Warrior spikers share third in final league standings

Fallbrook High School’s girls volleyball team ended the 2008 regular season with a 4-6 record in Avocado League play which tied the Warriors for third in the league standings.

The Warriors finished their season with a 19-13 record, although they lost the final three matches of the regular season including a November 6 match to Mission Hills which allowed the Grizzlies to tie Fallbrook for third in the league standings.

“There were a couple of matches that we’d like to have back,” said Fallbrook coach Peter Peng.

La Costa Canyon, which was ranked third in the entire United States following the end of the regular season, won the Avocado League championship with a perfect 10-0 record in league play while Torrey Pines placed second with an 8-2 league mark.

Both of those teams were in the Palomar League last season, but the North County Conference realignment placed more emphasis on school enrollment than geography.

“It’s kind of nice going by size. I feel it’s good preparation for the CIF playoffs,” Peng said. “It definitely made us stronger in a lot of ways.”

Peng replaced Galen Tomlinson as the Warriors’ coach this year. “For my first year it was a good experience,” he said. “The kids did a great job competing in the Avocado League with Torrey Pines and La Costa.

Mission Hills required five games to win their regular-season finale against Fallbrook, and the Warriors won the first two games of that match.

“They had to play almost a flawless game to beat us,” Peng said. “That was one of the best team-oriented performances I’ve seen in a long time.”

The Grizzlies also played a mixed-tempo game. “They really threw us off with their off-speed game,” Peng said.

The Warriors won their pool in all three of the tournaments they entered during the regular season.

In the first two of those tournaments they lost in the first round of elimination play, but Fallbrook won the Southern California Volleyball Invitational tournament to account for eight of the victories during an 11-match winning streak.

“That one really springboarded us,” Peng said.

Peng carried 16 girls on the varsity roster. Six of them were seniors, including four starters.

The roster also included eight juniors and two sophomores. “I think we have a good foundation for the future,” Peng said.

“We’re relatively young,” Peng said. “Fortunately, our three returning seniors were really good.”

To comment on this story online, visit http://www.thevillagenews.com.