Warrior spikers finish second in league

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Fallbrook High School's girls volleyball team finished second in the final Valley League standings.

The Warriors lost twice to Mount Carmel, who posted a 10-0 league record. Fallbrook's 8-2 mark trailed the Sundevils but nobody else. Mission Hills had the third-place record of 6-4.

"It felt good to finish in the top two teams," said Fallbrook coach Chip Patterson.

Mount Carmel's first win over Fallbrook Sept. 23 at Mount Carmel had a 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 score. The Warriors then hosted San Pasqual in a Sept. 28 match which ended as a 25-12, 25-14, 25-21 Fallbrook triumph. The Sept. 30 home match against Escondido was a 25-23, 25-18, 26-24 Warriors victory.

Fallbrook concluded the first round of league play Oct. 5 at home against Mission Hills. The Grizzlies won the 25-22 first game, but Fallbrook came back with 25-14 and 26-24 wins. Mission Hills won the fourth set by a 25-17 margin to set up a winner-take-all fifth game. Fallbrook prevailed by a 15-11 margin in game five.

The second round of league play began Oct. 7. Fallbrook hosted Valley Center and won 25-16, 25-21, and 25-19 sets.

With only a one-game deficit, an Oct. 12 win over Mount Carmel in Fallbrook would have created a tie for the league lead. Fallbrook was on the desired end of the 25-23 score for the first game. "We had them and we let them off the hook," Patterson said.

Mount Carmel then won 25-17 and 25-21 sets. Fallbrook prevailed in the 25-20 fourth game. "We started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," Patterson said. "We had the momentum going into the fifth set."

The Warriors had a 6-4 lead during the fifth game. "We made some passing errors and then we kind of went into a slump," Patterson said.

Mount Carmel scored the next three points, although Fallbrook was later able to even the score at 8-8. The Grizzlies took a 10-8 lead and Fallbrook narrowed the margin to 10-9.

"From there they just pulled away from us," Patterson said.

The final score was 15-9. "We couldn't finish. We couldn't put a ball away," Patterson said.

The loss cost the Fallbrook players the league championship. "It was disappointing for them," Patterson said.

Patterson looked at the match in terms of improvement. "The last time they beat us in three. This time we took them to five," he said. "It really felt good for the girls to push Mount Carmel to five sets."

The Warriors thus came within a five-set match of winning the league title. "You couldn't ask for more than what they gave," Patterson said.

Fallbrook had three more regular-season matches. "You've got to let that go and move onto the next one," Patterson said.

The next one was Oct. 14 at San Pasqual and ended as a 25-8, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24 Warriors victory. Fallbrook then won the 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-7 match Oct. 19 at Escondido.

Senior Night ceremonies which honored Sophia Badillo, Ashylnn Craven, Sara Latimer, and Michelle Pineda preceded Fallbrook's Oct. 21 home match against Mission Hills. The match itself began with 25-20 and 25-23 Fallbrook wins. The Grizzlies were winners of the 25-14 third set. The Warriors completed the match with a 20-14 triumph in game four.

The match with Mission Hills concluded the regular season for Fallbrook and gave the Warriors an overall record of 18-11. "I'm proud of them," Patterson said. "They turned the season around for sure, and they have become reunited as a team."