The stage was set for a dramatic battle. Two schools outside of the bubble of attention for the most part when it comes to athletics. Both of them sporting strong records with wins over quality programs. Two league champions. To top it all off, it was a rematch from earlier in the season. The Triumph Jaguars were victorious over the Vaughn White Tigers in a hard fought first match 3-1 (13-25, 23-25, 25-13, 21-25). This meeting would be a reversal of fates on the biggest stage, in the finals of the CIF City Section Division 2 girls volleyball tournament. The White Tigers triumphed over the Jaguars in commanding fashion with a 3-0 (17-25, 9-25, 20-25) sweep.

“I told them, don’t worry about the results. Focus more on the process, how you earn each point, how you earn each set, be patient.” Vaughn head coach Lijuan Lapporte said afterwards. “They communicated and as a team they used (patience) very well.”

The opening set saw Triumph stake an early lead as big as four points at multiple times, culminating at 9-5, which included an ace from sophomore setter/defensive specialist Marisol Solis. From there, Vaughn took advantage of errors to tie the set at 11-11. Valerie Duran took service and recorded three aces as the White Tigers scored the next five points for a 11-16 lead. The Jaguars worked the deficit down to one point, 15-16, with four straight of their own, including two tips by Isabel Holoman. Triumph, however, was unable to complete the comeback as they were continuously unable to keep their shots within the boundary on the court. To their credit, Vaughn made them pay. Estefany Contreras had two tips and a kill to push the first set lead to 17-23 before two balls hit out gave the opening set to the White Tigers, 17-25.

“It was hard for us to get into system today, couldn’t find rhythm,” reflected Triumph head coach Felipe Ayala. “We’re a very young team, so that’s the biggest part that affected us out there.”

Vaughn wasted none of their momentum starting the second set. Duran nailed two more aces and the White Tigers were up 0-3. Vaughn continued to put pressure on Triumph, defensively staying tight, resulting in more hits falling out of play. This pressure then manifested itself as the Jaguars were setting up their offense, with net violations, service errors, and being unable to receive the ball cleanly defensively. Vaughn built their lead to an insurmountable 4-20 advantage before Triumph began to put their play together again. A kill from Contreras halted that momentum at 23-8 and senior Kheily Tamayo finished off the second set with a powerful kill.

“We’ve faced tough competition all season long, so I thought we’d be a little better prepared,” Ayala said regarding the effect the big stage could have had on his young team. “Everything, the ambiance, the crowd, the big stage, definitely (seemed to weigh on the team).”

The Jaguars were not about to roll over and play dead. They started the next set with service and scored the first three points, including an ace from junior Anabellah Valdez. Tamayo recorded a kill to get service back and Duran added two aces to give the White Tigers a 3-5 advantage. The back and forth continued throughout the third set with neither team holding another lead larger than two points. There were multiple ties, including one at 17-all following a kill from Jaguars junior Jackeline Lopez and at 20 apiece following a kill from Holoman. From there, Contreras took control, driving home four consecutive kills to put Triumph away 20-25 and give Vaughn their second City Section championship.

“I’m really proud of them.” Basked Lapporte “I have a lot of seniors on the team and I do have one freshman, I have to point that out. She did a great job defensively.” Lapporte also praised the leadership and play of Contreras as a team captain, and of Duran for her ability to control the game from the back.

The White Tigers now move on to the CIF California State Division V playoffs. Vaughn will host the Southwest SD Raiders on Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00 p.m.