Westlake girls beat Newbury Park in race for volleyball playoffs

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn FINDING AN OPENING-Brynn Cameron, right, of Newbury Park, spikes the ball past Westlake's Rachel Smith, left, and Jillian Lane, center, during Friday night's game at Newbury Park. Westlake beat Newbury Park, 3-1. Five teams are fighting for the postseason.

The Westlake girls’ volleyball team avenged an earlier Marmonte League loss vs. Newbury Park when it beat the Panthers 3-1 in games in a match played at Newbury Park High School last Friday. The win improved the Warriors to 9-3 in league and 15-4 overall.

Westlake lost game one, 20-25, but rallied to win games two, three and four, 25-19, 25-12 and 25-18. It was Newbury Park’s second league loss.

Warrior head coach Doug Magorien said his team has played well lately, after losing three league matches vs. Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Royal.

"We were kind of on a vendetta (tonight)," Magorien said. "We lost to Newbury Park which kind of put us in a tizzy, and then we lost to T.O. and Royal, and we did a little bit of mental damage to ourselves. We’re in the process of rehabilitating in terms of our mentality."

The Warriors fought injuries early in the season but Magorien said it was the team’s psyche that needed work more recently.

"We were rehabbing physically at the beginning of the year," Magorien said. "Now we’re rehabbing mentally this part of the season."

Against Newbury Park, Alex Johnson, a freshman outside hitter, had six service aces, including four midway through game three which helped the Warriors build a commanding 13-4 lead on the way to the 25-12 win.

"I thought we did a good job serving," Magorien said. "Last time they served us off the court. This time, we returned the favor to them."

Ashley Sumner, nicknamed "Bunny," a junior middle blocker, had five blocks in the win over Newbury Park.

"That chemistry with Alex’ (Johnson) serving and Bunny (Sumner) blocking balls turned the game around," said Magorien, who also praised the play of Brittany Prater (a senior outside hitter who had 12 kills vs. Newbury Park), Courtney Wade, a senior setter, and Shannon Lee, a senior opposite side hitter.

"All the girls are important in the jobs they do," Magorien said, "Brittany (Prater) playing great offensively, Courtney (Wade) spreading the ball around the court, and Shannon (Lee) digging balls. But the two things that were extraordinary were the jump-serving of the freshman (Johnson) and Bunny’s (Sumner) blocking."

Sumner has re-dedicating herself to volleyball in the latter part of the season. "She came to me last week and said, ‘I’m ready to commit to volleyball, I want to be a good volleyball player and I’m willing to work,’" said Magorien. "I was told last week that she quit club softball to play club volleyball and that kind of showed me that she’s ready to put the dedication in."

The Westlake veterans talked about avenging the earlier loss vs. the Panthers and their hopes for the rest of the season.

"I think we were really caught off guard the first time we played them, like, ‘Whoa, where’d they come from?’" said Rachel Smith, a senior middle blocker. "This time, we were prepared. We knew they were going to come out strong and we were ready for it. We stepped up to the plate this time."

Westlake made it to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) finals last year.

"We were expecting to do well because we were essentially the same team that played last year," said Wade. "But I think we needed to realize that everyone (in league) had gotten better and it wasn’t just going to be the same as last year."

But after the earlier league losses, Westlake is competing like a different team.

"There could be a chance that we could win the Marmonte League," said Wade. "Our intensity is amazing right now. I think this definitely sends a message—that we’re ready and we’re not going down without a fight."

Westlake had two huge matches (vs. Thousand Oaks on Tuesday and against Royal today) which will help decide who makes the postseason.

"How we play in those two games is the key to whether we get a bid to the playoffs," said Magorien, "or whether we go as a seeded team to the playoffs."