BREAKERS ROUNDUP: Seasons come to end for Laguna squads

When you take on a team the caliber of Dana Hills, you need to be at your best.

The Laguna Beach High girls’ tennis team gave it its all Tuesday against the second-ranked Dolphins in a Division I quarterfinal match of the CIF playoffs, but the No. 7 Breakers “” playing without the services of their top singles players “” saw their season come to an end in a 15-3 loss on their home courts.

Alex Tachovsky, Laguna’s No. 1 singles player, missed the match due to a prior commitment, Coach Jimmy Gleason said. Maddie Jaeger took Tachovsky’s spot and went on to perform impressively at No. 1 singles. The junior picked up a big point for the Breakers, beating the Dolphins’ No. 1 player, Kristina Smith, 6-3.

Jaeger also earned a 6-3 win over No. 3 Kasey Mathess.

“Maddie did really well and that was a great win,” Gleason said. “She beat a girl who I was told was ranked 14th or 15th in Southern California.

“The girls played as best they could and it was hard to try to beat a really good Dana Hills team without Alex.”

Laguna, which won the Orange Coast League championship and finished 16-4 overall, also got a point from its No. 1 doubles team of Lauren Michaels/Haley Moss.

Laguna was coming off a hard-fought 10-8 home win over CAMS in a second-round match played Saturday. Tachovsky played that match and earned a sweep (6-0, 6-0, 6-2) and Jaeger won two of three sets (6-0, 6-2, 2-6) at No. 2 singles. In doubles play, Michaels/Moss won two of three (2-6, 6-2, 6-4) and the team of Heather Tran/McKenna Nokes won their final matches to advance the Breakers on to the Round of eight.

The Breakers began the playoffs on Nov. 14 with a 15-3 victory over Sunny Hills, the No. 3 team out of the Freeway League. Jaeger swept (6-2, 6-2, 7-5) at No. 2 singles. Michaels/Moss (6-0, 6-1, 6-2) and Bianca Sganga/Alison Azera (6-2, 6-3, 6-3) swept at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, respectively.

Gleason said that his team had an “incentive” to reach the quarterfinal round.

“I told the girls that if we reached the quarterfinals, I would color my hair,” he said. “They did their job so I held my promise.”

On Monday, Gleason said his senior team members “” Tran, Meagan Moss, Lauren Mendoza and Megan Marolf “” spray-painted his hair pink while the rest of the team “looked on and giggled,” he said. Gleason donned his new color through Tuesday’s match and it hadn’t washed out as of Wednesday.

“I wore it proudly,” he said. “It was fun and we had a good time. I saw a coach in Michigan color his hair for his team one year and it really brought that team together. I thought it did the same for us.

“I’m really proud of the girls and the year that they had. They became a real team and we reached our goal of making it to the quarterfinals. Not only did they come out here and practice every day for two or more hours, but they also practiced with their other coaches to get ready for this season. It was a success.”

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GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

All that stood in the way of Laguna Beach High advancing to a third straight trip to a CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball division final Tuesday was Dos Pueblos, the No. 1-ranked team and top-seed in Division I-A, a team considered the favorite to win the crown.

Laguna, a two-time defending Southern Section champion but playing up in the division for the first time this year, pushed visiting Dos Pueblos throughout the semifinal match at Dugger Gym but couldn’t seize the momentum. The Chargers moved on to Saturday’s division final by finally claiming a 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory before a large, boisterous crowd.

After the two teams split the first two games, the Breakers were down, 21-20, and serving in the third game only to see Dos Pueblos go on a 4-1 run to go up, 2-1, in games. They were down, 23-21, in game four, but the Chargers scored the final two points to pull out another tough win.

“It was a great match,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said. “We fought hard, came back in that first game to make it close, seemed in control with a 13-9 lead in that third game that was close to the end, but they (Dos Pueblos) pulled it out.

“They were a tough match-up for us. They have a couple of 6-3 girls and a 6-2 girl. We dig a lot of balls that we usually convert into points, but we couldn’t convert in this game because of their blocking ability. Dos Pueblos is the best blocking team we’ve faced all year, by far.”

Paulette Grand Pre had 27 kills and 19 digs for Laguna. Piper Obradovich had 15 kills and 11 digs, Alex Rieckhoff had 11 digs and six kills, Allison Palmer had 10 digs and Alexandra Palmer had 45 assists.

Laguna completed the year at 24-9. The semifinal appearance was the 23rd all-time for the program, which has reached at least the semifinal round for a fifth consecutive year.

“I think we played some pretty darn-good volleyball this year, and I’m so proud of this team and their efforts,” Stewart said. “The girls improved from start to finish and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Dos Pueblos, which improved to 28-5, will face Channel League rival and No. 2-seed Santa Barbara in a 4 p.m. division final Saturday at UC Santa Barbara. The Chargers won the Channel League title and the Dons finished in second place.

BOYS’ WATER POLO

Laguna Beach reached one goal this year, but fell two quarters shy of attaining another lofty feat.

The fourth-ranked Breakers battled Montebello to the end of Wednesday’s CIF Southern Section Division III semifinal match, although the top-ranked Oilers were able to leave Mount San Antonio College in Walnut with a 10-6 victory.

The win moves Montebello onto Saturday’s division final, where the Oilers will face No. 3-seed Murrieta Valley.

Montebello led, 2-1, after one quarter, but the Breakers came back to win the second quarter, 3-2, to leave the teams tied at 4 at the half.

The Oilers took control in the third quarter, where they outscored Laguna, 5-1.

“I thought we came out with a lot of heart and played a very, very good first half, especially in that second quarter,” said Laguna Coach Ethan Damato, whose squad lost for the second time this season to Montebello.

The Oilers won a Sept. 23 meeting, 6-4, at the Laguna pool. “I felt our guys came ready to play, but unfortunately, we made a few mistakes.

“One of Montebello’s strengths is that they make fewer mistakes and capitalize on other team’s mistakes.”

Victory Alcone and Preston Head led Laguna in scoring with two goals each. Nolan McConnell and David Brunner each had a goal.

Alcone and Brunner had four and two steals, respectively, and McConnell had a pair of assists. Erik Henrikson recorded 12 saves.

Laguna, champion of the Orange Coast League, had its season end at 19-12. The Breakers went 13-4 over their final 17 games of the season.

“In all my years of coaching, and I know this is my first as head coach at Laguna, this was probably the most rewarding year,” said Damato, who added that the Breakers had team goals this year of making it back to the semifinal round and also making the title game. No Laguna team has played for a title since the 1997 season, he said.

“From day one to the end of the season, this team went from night to day,” he said.

“We had a really, really new group of guys play this year because we lost about 80% of our scoring and several seniors from last year’s team. These guys really gave it their all. They really came together and had a great second half of the season.”

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (949) 494-4321 or by e-mail at [email protected].