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Tiger volleyball bounced out of playoffs, lose in three to Exeter High
Exeter returned the favor Thursday night in Lemoore’s Event Center as the Monarchs, 20-8 overall and 8-2 in the tough Central Sequoia League, beat the Tigers in the opening round of the Division II playoffs, effectively knocking them out of the title chase.
Central Section Division II Volleyball Bracket
Exeter beat the Tigers 22-25, 16-25, and 20-25 to advance to the next round of the Division II playoffs.
Exeter will now go on to face the only team to beat the Tigers twice this year and the reigning WYL champs, El Diamante, on November 19 in Visalia.
Taylor, while disappointed in the final outcome, was impressed by her girls’ play throughout the year. “These girls are the hardest working group of girls I have ever coached,” she said. “They have come farther than anyone ever thought they would. It has been my privilege to coach them.”
Buoyed by some strong play from Jessica Taylor, Emma Larson and Sarah McCann, Lemoore sped to a 13-8 advantage in the opening game and watched as Exeter closed the gap to 13-11. But Lemoore held on, at least for a while as the Monarch’s star hitter, Jacque Hutcheson, served long to put the Tigers up 14-11.
A Taylor kill put Lemoore up 16-13 and a follow up point had the Tigers clearly in control at 17-13.
Exeter stormed back, cutting the gap to 17-15 before Maggie Billingsley, deftly set up Christa Anderson for a soft dink that Exeter was unable to return.
Amy Brown had a booming kill for a 20-16 lead and with Lemoore ahead 20-18 Taylor responded with a smash that hit the top of the net and fell onto Exeter’s side for a Tiger 21-18 lead, but after that things began to go south for Lemoore.
A long Tiger serve and a mistake allowed Exeter to tie the contest at 21 apiece. The Monarch’s Olivia Harden blocked a superb smash by Faith Wyatt to give Exeter its first lead at 22-21. Trailing 24-21 Taylor cut the gap to just two points with a strong hit, but the Monarchs took the first game 25-22 when Lemoore hit the ball out of bounds.
In the second game Lemoore lead 11-9 when Exeter went on a tear, jumping to a 20-13 lead before finally beating Lemoore 25-16. In the third and final game, the Monarchs were up 20-10 before Lemoore valiantly stormed back to but finally succumbed 25-20.
Previous Action
Lemoore's volleyballers finished the regular West Yosemite League campaign with a convincing victory over Hanford Thursday night in the Bullpup's gym and will are now preparing for the Central Section playoff, which begin for the Tigers Thursday. The Tigers beat the Bullpups 25-11, 25-10, 25-11 and will now open the Division II Central Section playoffs with a home contest Thursday night against Exeter High School in the Event Center. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Assuming the Tigers get past Exeter on Thursday, Lemoore will undoubtedly face the WYL's league and defending Central Section champion El Diamante in a semi-final match in Visalia. The Miners have beaten Lemoore twice this season and the two teams faced each other last year in the Central Section championship game, which El Diamante won.
Lemoore finished at 8-3 in the WYL, it's only losses coming to El Diamante (twice) and a thrilling loss to Redwood. Overall the Tigers finished 19-9.
The Exeter Monarchs, of the Central Sequoia League were 19-8 overall and 8-2 in league play. Exeter finished second behind Central Valley Christian, which completed a 10-0 league campaign. Lemoore and Exeter played a thrilling five-set masterpiece on September 12 in which the Tigers came from behind to beat the Monarchs at home. Lemoore won the firs set 25-23 before dropping the next two 15-25, 25-20. Lemoore rebounded with a 25-15 win in the fourth set before edging Exeter in the deciding set 1-14.
Previous Action
There was just no getting past El Diamante in 2013. Despite a solid showing in the West Yosemite League, Lemoore's talented volleyball team just couldn't jump that hurdle called the El Diamante Miners. The Tigers lost for the second time in as many starts to El Diamante last week in three sets 25-10, 25-16, and 25-21. The win just about assured a top seed for the Miners when the Central Section playoffs begin next week. The Tigers, who shared the title with the Miners last year, dropped to 7-3 in the WYL and 18-9 overall. The only other loss in the WYL was to Redwood High, a team the Tigers defeated earlier in the season.
Lemoore hopes to improve its chances for an opening round playoff game with a victory over Golden West on Tuesday and then defeating a lackluster Hanford team on Thursday in Hanford. The Golden West game is in Visalia.
