It was a moment of disappointment and pride for the Palm Desert High School volleyball team.
The disappointment was the Aztecs' three-set loss to No. 1 seeded Tustin in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs. The pride was knowing that no Aztecs team had ever been this far in the playoffs despite the 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 loss.
"Our season was amazing. I think this is the best volleyball team I have ever been on," said junior Jackie Wahl, one of the stars on the night and for the season for Palm Desert. "We all have so much heart, and we all love each other so much."
The No. 5 Aztecs played as a team again Saturday night in the home playoff game, but couldn't overcome the solid play offensively and defensively of the Tillers. While Tustin (28-3) moves on to the championship game in Division 5, the Aztecs finish their year 24-9 and with dreams of what might have been with some better execution on the night.
"It was a great match. I think we started out strong and surprised ourselves," said Palm Desert head coach Becca Brown. "We know they were going to be a tough game, but it was something that (Tustin) was a little bit prepared for."
Palm Desert held an 18-17 lead in the first set, only to watch as Tustin won eight of the last 10 points to take the set. The Aztecs never led in the second set and had to rally from down 22-12 to make the final score close. At times, the match seemed a hitting contest between Palm Desert's Wahl and Tustin's powerful outside hitter Ava McInnes.
In the third set, the taller Tillers continued to use a combination of short and high sets and a defense that refused to have a ball hit the floor to built a 15-5 lead. Again, Palm Desert rallied to pull within 21-17 before the Tillers pulled away to complete the sweep.
"We have a young group, a lot of talent coming back," Brown said after the loss. "So we're pretty excited about next year."
As for this year, Brown was delighted.
"Absolutely. This is the first time this school has been this far," Brown said. "We're really proud of our girls. They grinded all season. They put in 100 days. We counted today, 100 days of hard work. Gave up their Homecoming, gave up their weekends to go play tournaments. So next year, we're coming for them."
The moment
After two competitive sets, the Aztecs struggled at the start of the third set and fell behind 8-1. It was a lead the Tillers would never relinquish in proving their No. 1 seeding in the division is legitimate.
The stars
Wahl, Victoria Bouffard and a solid defense kept Palm Desert in the game throughout the night. Tustin was led by a trio of big hitters, Ava McInnes, sister Erin McInnes and Paige Cutwright. Setter Samantha Carrone controlled the Tillers' offense at the net.
The chatter
"Our serve receive broke down a little bit, first-ball contact. When we had a good first-ball contact, it was pretty easy to put the ball away. They did a good job of keeping us struggling passing and on defense," Brown said.
"We were so close, so obviously I'm a little disappointed, but I just think our team did very well. Obviously, yeah, I wish we could have gone on to the finals," Wahl said.
The takeaway
The Aztecs lose just one senior off of the best team the school have ever fielded. That certainly means that the core of an outstanding Palm Desert team this year should be back and looking for another deep run in the CIF-SS playoffs next year. With just a bit more experience and the six sophomores on the roster this year becoming juniors for 2020, Palm Desert could have another powerhouse team.
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November 03, 2019 at 11:25AM
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Palm Desert's best-ever volleyball season ends with semifinal loss to tough Tustin - Desert Sun
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