NORWALK – Garden Grove’s girls volleyball team had made a couple of wild comebacks in the CIF Southern Section Division 8 playoffs.
The Argonauts had been down 2-0 in sets against Canyon Springs in the first round and University Prep in the quarterfinals. They had come back to win three straight sets to advance to the finals.
Garden Grove could not pull off a similar comeback Saturday. The Argonauts were swept by Bell Gardens 25-15, 25-9, 25-9 in the Division 8 championship match at Cerritos College.
Bell Gardens had height and length advantages. The Lancers also covered their half of the court well defensively and made few errors of any sort.
“They were a lot taller than us,” said Garden Grove coach Frankie Perales, who has been in charge of the Argos girls volleyball program since 2011. “They also had very good ball control.”
Garden Grove (17-20) led only three times Saturday, early in the first set and early in the third. They never had a lead of more than one point.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” Perales said. “When were down 0-2 I was thinking ‘Maybe we can do the same thing today.’”
Garden Grove junior setter Liunelle Gasatan was impressed by the Lancers (19-18).
“I can see why they made it to the finals,” she said.
Gastanan, Amari Jennings, Jasmin Nusser and Bianca Viera had three kills each for Garden Grove. Gasatan had six assists and Emilia Sualua-Orozco had five assists.
Maggie Chairez had a match-high 15 kills for Bell Gardens.
Gasatan looked at Saturday’s match as a surprise bonus for the Argonauts.
“I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I had no expectations. I didn’t think we were going to make it to the finals at all.”
But Gasatan said the Argos did have a mental edge.
“We’re very headstrong,” she said.
The season does not end for the Argonauts, who will play in the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that begin Tuesday.
SoCal Regional champions advance to the CIF State Championships that will be played Nov. 22 and 23 at Santiago Canyon College.
Perales is happy the season is not over for a team that he describes as “a volleyball family.”
“These girls really rely on each other,” he said. “They always have a very positive attitude towards everything.”
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