San Marcos girls volleyball had its season come to a close with a sweeping loss to Long Beach Poly in the CIF-SS Div. 2 Quarterfinals on Wednesday in Long Beach.
On the road for the first time in the playoffs, the Royals struggled to keep up with the Jackrabbits, falling 17-25, 26-28, 11-25.
“Unfortunately, we came up short,” San Marcos head coach Erica Downing said. “We just did not have it tonight. We played a very good team that we thought we matched well with, but they just served us off the court.
“They have a wonderful cheering section with a lot of support that gave them a lot of energy.”
Despite the loss, the Royals’ season is not over yet. They were invited to compete in the CIF State Tournament, which will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The brackets will be released on Sunday, Nov. 9.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s sad. We really thought we were gonna be able to make it further into CIF and we came up short,” Downing said. “I’m just really proud of all of these 15 seniors. It’s a special group and they have been playing great.
“It’s just a hard one to swallow because we really thought we were well matched with that team, but they’re a great team and we can’t take that away from them.”
San Marcos’ best chance to steal a win came in the second set. However, Samantha Fallon went down with an injury, leaving a hole at the net for the Royals both offensively and defensively and resulting in a tight 26-28 loss.
“[The injury] kind of took the wind out of our sails in the second game,” Downing said. “I think if we had won that game, it would’ve been a different story, but unfortunately it did not go well for us… I was really proud of their fight even until the end.”
The Royals were led offensively by Charlotte Hastings, who tallied a team-high eight kills. Meanwhile, Cora Loomer tallied five kills and both Jordan Schmoller and Fallon ended with four kills apiece..
“Charlotte Hastings had a great game,” Downing said. “Even after running down a ball and hitting the table, she came back and powered through and gave us some more energy.”