NORWALK — The El Toro girls volleyball dropped a heartbreaking match in five sets to Westridge, 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13, in the CIF-SS Division 5 final Friday night at Cerritos College.
The Chargers (22-11) were seeking their second CIF-SS title and their first since 2021, but instead it was the Tigers who won their first championship since 2006.
El Toro coach Gus Culver thought momentum was on his team’s side after it won the fourth set and forced a fifth set.
“Unfortunately, we had opportunities, we just couldn’t really build on some of the chances that we got, which was a credit to them,” Culver said of Westridge. “They were playing great defense, and the ball kept coming back over the net. And neither team could really spread by more than a couple points. So … you know, at the end, it was close.”
El Toro went up 11-8 in the fifth set after a kill by middle blocker Liz Njoroge. Westridge coach Jenna Wong immediately called a time out for a moment to regroup.
“I think we were just a battle-tested team, and we knew that we had more in us,” Wong said. “We knew that we had been in this situation, and we have seen ourselves be successful. And I think that really showed, even when we were down 8 to 11, you know. We were just never say die, and that has been the theme of this team.
“All through playoffs it’s like, it’s our time. It’s our time. We have done hard things, we deserve to be here. And just believing in that with every fiber of their being has been really great to see.”
The Tigers (22-7-5) rattled off three consecutive points after the timeout, which forced Culver to call a timeout for El Toro.
Westridge went up by two points after an attacking error by El Toro and a kill by Bennett Thein.
Later in the set, an ace by Jolene Lee gave the Tigers set point and then the Chargers misplayed a ball into the net trailing 14-13, ending their shot at the CIF title.
“I thought it was a pretty evenly-fought match and, you know, it’s unfortunate that we were the team that had to lose,” Culver said.
Thein had a match-high 35 kills, Misk Youssef added 14 kills and Chloe Sim chipped in with 10 kills for Westridge.
The Chargers also had three players with double-digit kills. Lindsay Kieth had a team-high 19 kills and 20 digs, Elli Hirosumi tallied 17 kills with 23 digs and Njoroge finished with 10 kills.
Senior setter Sophie Nigro recorded 48 assists and 13 digs for El Toro, which will continue its season in the CIF State playoffs that begin next week.
“I know it’s a lot of volleyball and you guys don’t want to think about it right now, but, you know, we’re back in the gym on Monday and we’ll find out where we’re playing on Sunday,” Culver told his players. “Back in the gym Monday and back to playing on Tuesday.”