Narbonne Cuts Poly Down to Size in 4 Games

Poly High, which won the 1997 City Section 3-A Division title, couldn’t measure up Tuesday to taller Narbonne, was defeated, 15-13, 15-5, 10-15, 15-3 in a City Championship semifinal at Poly.

Poly (14-2), seeded No. 2 in the City, overcame a 7-1 deficit in the first game to take a 10-8 lead before faltering.

Sixth-seeded Narbonne (15-1), which will play top-seeded Palisades in the final Friday night at Occidental College, capped its second consecutive playoff victory as an underdog.

The Gauchos overcame a two-game deficit to defeat third-seeded Sylmar in a quarterfinal.

“We knew they were tall, we knew what to expect,” Coach Jimmy Ikeda of Poly said. “We just didn’t execute. We dug ourselves a hole in games two and three.”

Gaby Gallardo, a senior outside hitter, had eight kills and 12 assists for Poly, and senior Victoria Ianni had 12 kills.

Poly scored five consecutive points to snap a 10-10 tie in the third game. In the fourth game, Narbonne built a 7-1 lead.