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Published on 11/03/1999 All articles from this issue

Newport puts an end to Lancers' 37-game winning streak

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

High School Volleyball Report

Los Altos

Behind the torrid hitting of middle blocker Alex Brown, Los Altos High shot down Gunn 15-4, 15-3, 15-6 last Thursday.

Brown, a junior, had 13 kills and four blocks for the host Eagles, who improved to 7-3 in the SCVAL De Anza Division and 28-8 overall.

"Alex continued to dominate," Los Altos coach Jason Mansfield said. "She's the best player on our team right now. She seems to put the ball away every time she touches it."

Gunn (1-9, 13-15) was led by Jacqueline Heler, who tallied 11 kills.

Brown also paced second-place Los Altos Oct. 26, racking up 17 kills in a 15-9, 15-9, 15-13 loss to division-leading St. Francis. Kelly Corbett had 15 kills for the Lancers.

Mountain View

Mountain View High sunk to 2-10 in the SCVAL El Camino Division last week with losses to Wilcox and Homestead.

The Spartans fell 17-15, 13-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-12 to visiting Wilcox Oct. 26 despite 17 kills from Shannon TenBroeck. A day later, the Spartans dropped a 15-7, 15-11, 16-14 decision to host Homestead. Adrienne Hoopes had 11 kills for the Mustangs (5-7).

Pinewood

The St. Francis High volleyball team dropped its first match of the season last Saturday, but coach Dave Gambelin wasn't overly concerned by it.

After all, the Lancers lost to a Newport Harbor team ranked second in the state and third in the nation. And St. Francis didn't go down easy, losing 15-8, 15-17, 15-4, 15-12 in the finals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

"I'm proud of the girls," Gambelin said of his team, ranked third in the state and fourth nationally. "It was a great battle and the match was tight the whole way."

The loss snapped the Lancers' streak of 37 straight wins, which began after they lost to Newport in the finals of last year's Santa Barbara tourney.

Gambelin said St. Francis (26-1) played as well as they have all year at the tournament, which brings together 16 of the top teams in the state.

"They played well all weekend," he said. "The level they're playing at now is twice the level they played at all week."

The Lancers went 3-1 in Santa Barbara, beating Stockdale (Bakersfield) in the semifinals, Centennial (Bakersfield) in the quarterfinals and Royal (Simi Valley) in the first round.

St. Francis had two players make the all-tournament team: setter Hayley Anderson and outside hitter Colby Lyman, a freshman.

"I don't know if a freshman has ever made the list before," Gambelin said. "Colby was phenomenal. She's playing well beyond her years"

Lyman averaged 10 kills and six blocks per match, according to the coach. Anderson, a junior, had 76 assists in the final two games. Gambelin said Becky Biniek, Marissa Borelli and Jen Williams also played well.

Pinewood's pursuit of another Private Schools Athletic League title came to an end last week as the Panthers lost to two teams ahead of them in the standings.

Host Pinewood (4-3 league) fell 15-2, 15-5, 15-5 to Woodside Priory (8-0) Oct. 26 and 15-4, 15-0, 15-1 at Castilleja (7-1) Thursday.

In the Woodside match, no Pinewood player posted more than four kills.

"They're a good team with a great outside hitter and middle," Pinewood coach Cindy Osmanian said of Woodside. "We had trouble with both of them."