Templeton High volleyball team comes up short in Southern Section title match
Saddleback Valley Christian’s Shannon Geraty slammed eight kills in an adrenaline-fueled fifth set as the Warriors defeated Templeton, 18-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12, to win its third consecutive CIF-SS championship in the Division 3A Championship at Rio Hondo College on Saturday.
“It was an awesome game,” Templeton coach Cameron Schaeffer said. “We went further than anyone expected us to. I think we surprised some people and turned some heads.”
With the teams tied at two games each, Saddleback Valley Christian jumped ahead early on the big kills of Geraty. Saddleback Valley Christian went ahead 9-1 as her swings either hit the floor or powered off the Templeton defense.
Templeton pushed back to 12-8 and fought off three championship points before Geraty got the last kill for the title.
In the first game, Templeton dominated the net play and surged out to a 20-9 lead. Freshman Cheyenne Rice was stout at the net and led the game with five kills, but finished with just seven in the match.
Saddleback Valley Christian made a late push, but Templeton took the first set 25-18.
In a feverish second game, the Warriors broke the fifth tie at 11-11 and outpaced Templeton for a 25-16 win.
Saddleback Valley Christian rode the momentum into the third game taking an early lead, 4-0. However, at 6-2, Templeton stormed back with eight consecutive points for a 10-6 lead.
Templeton outpaced the Warriors down the stretch, but Saddleback Valley Christian survived two game points before an emphatic kill won the game for Templeton, 25-22.
Saddleback Valley Christian gained, lost and gained the lead early in the fourth game eventually leading 19-13. Templeton made a hard charge to bring the game to 20-19, but Dyer was again strong at the net to win the game, 25-19, for the Warriors and force the fifth and deciding game.
Emily Burns led Templeton with 15 kills and was joined in double-digits by Lauren Ralston’s 12 kills. Hannah McRoy did the hard work for the Eagles with a team-high 32 digs and 39 assists.
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Templeton High volleyball team comes up short in Southern Section title match."