After Steele evened the match in the second set, junior outside hitter Chloe Kelly hit the ball down the left side, ending the point. Kelly clinched the third set for the Chaps, giving them a 2-1 lead that they never let up.
“I think we need to get through and work on every play just one point at a time,” Kelly said. “Also keeping my teammates’ energy up really keeps us together and keeps us pushing”
The Chaps (31-17) took down Steele (21-28), 3-1, Tuesday at Lehman High School in the regional semifinal. The Chaps won in four sets, finishing the match strong after dropping the second set. Senior outside hitter Lily Davis, who’s recorded the second-most kills this season for the Chaps, led the way with a 48% kill percentage.
“We’re very prepared and [the team] already knows every play they’re doing,” head coach Miguel Saenz said. “It’s just on us to go out there and execute. I think when we got out of time out there, I just focused on the small things and they did exactly what we thought.”
The Chaps took an early lead in the first set with a four point serving run from senior setter Trinity Johnston, making the score 5-0. The Chaps fought hard, battling through long rallies with the Knights. The Chaps kept the lead throughout the first set, ending the set off 25-12.
“It’s a mental game. Everyone on the team controls what they need to do to win,” Johnston said.
Steele opened up the second set with the lead and forced Westlake to take a timeout early in the set. After the timeout, the Chaps gained the point back with a cross court kill from Kelly, igniting the crowd and bench.
“I think looking at my teammates really helps,” Kelly said. “When I see their faces, it lights me up and gives their energy to me.”
Westlakes momentum did not carry over in the second half of the set. Steele used their offense to keep the Chaps at an arm’s distance the whole set, never giving up a lead. Westlake pulled within one point at 18-19, but the Knights dominated the set from there on out, closing the Chaps out 20-25 to take their first and only set.
“The team did well at playing through adversity,” Saenz said. “We were passing and serving well and we did well at overcoming certain things.”
The Chaps responded to the second set emphatically. Johnston came up big at the start of a set once again, giving the Chaps their second 5-0 lead of the match. They traded points until Steele brought the set within two points at 15-13. The Chaps took a timeout and regrouped. They closed the set out on a 10-5 run, giving them a 25-18 win.
“That was probably the best thing, is that we were playing our game, and they worked through it, instead of just kind of letting up and giving up,” Saenz said. “That was the thing I’m most proud of.”
The Chaps started the last set locked in a stalemate, as no team could get a lead larger than two points until Westlake used a 7-1 run to take a 17-11 lead. The Knights fought back within 5 but the Chaps closed the match on a 5-1 run, ending Steele’s season and sending Westlake into the next round of the playoffs.
The Chaps hit the court next against the Johnson Jaguars at the Burger Athletic Center. The Jags are 41-6, and have cruised through the playoffs without dropping a set thus far.
“I feel like we’ve really grown as a team and I feel like we have more plays and more tricks up our sleeves,” Johnston said. “I just feel like this next round of playoffs is gonna prepare the team, and we’re gonna work really hard. I’m really excited. I feel like we’re gonna go far.”
