Laguna Beach Digs Out Another Victory

Laguna Beach continued to do its best work close to the floor as the Artists advanced to the state Division I regional final with a 15-8, 15-11, 13-15, 15-9 victory over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa Saturday night at Laguna Beach High.

The Artists (25-2), who will travel to Bakersfield Centennial Tuesday, controlled the match by keeping points alive with several stellar digs.

Kelly Garner led the Artists’ stingy back-row defense with 33 digs, Liz Belloni had 21 and setter Carolyn Kittell had 20 to go with 58 assists.

Laguna Beach also stymied the Mustangs with a barrage of tough serves, especially in the first game when the Artists had seven aces, including Garner’s game-winner.

“We started off serving really well in the beginning and then we slacked off a little and lost our concentration,” Laguna Beach Coach Vickie Gentry said. “But the minute we got our serving, passing and digging going again, that was the match.”

Reserve Cammie DeGeus contributed four kills in the first game, and DeGeus took over the second game with nine kills, including two consecutive to give Laguna Beach a 14-11 lead. The Artists then finished the game when Meredith Brower dug a spike attempt and Garner followed with a hard spike down the middle.

The Artists trailed, 13-6, in the third game, but rallied to make it 14-13 on a block by Ashley Roth and Belloni. However, Mira Costa forced a fourth game when Molly Jahraus’ kill from the back row sailed long.

Garner took control of the Artists’ offense in the fourth game as she put away eight of her 17 kills. Mira Costa closed to within two after trailing, 7-1, but the Artists finished the match with a 7-3 run.

In another Division I match:

Bakersfield Centennial 3, Fountain Valley 0--Janae Hery had 13 kills to lead top-seeded Centennial (33-1), which won 15-12, 15-7, 15-12. Fountain Valley, which won the Southern Section Division I-A title, finishes the season 19-3.

In Division IV:

Calvary Chapel 3, Cerritos Valley Christian 2--Amy Owens had 19 kills and Kelly Overby had 17 kills for the Eagles, who advanced to the Southern Regional final with a 15-13, 13-15, 15-7, 9-15, 15-6 victory over the fourth-seeded Crusaders.

The Eagles, seeded eighth out of eight teams in the Southern Region, will travel to Bakersfield Tuesday to face second-seeded Bakersfield Garces in a rematch of last year’s first-round matchup, won by Calvary Chapel in three games.