Between Monday’s practice and Tuesday’s CIF State Girls Volleyball Championship Division 2 first-round match, Westview’s No. 2 option on offense — Gabrielle Ngo — hurt her shoulder.
The senior setter Angeline Nguyen, who has been playing with a torn ACL all season, was knocked out of the match in set No. 3 for a brief period when she planted awkwardly.
The normally efficient Wolverines hit -.100 for the match and committed 27 unforced errors.
Combine all those factors with the fact that the No. 2-seed Wolverines haven’t won a match in nearly four weeks, and the result Tuesday was a flat 25-14, 25-14, 25-10 loss to visiting Dana Point Dana Hills, the 15 seed.
“Basically, it’s Vivian (Roberts) and (Ngo) as our biggest offense,” Westview coach Nancy Ros said. “It changed the dynamics of the whole offense. It’s a little awkward because it’s not our normal lineup, and we just made simple errors.”
Dana Hills (15-13) will return to the county Thursday, this time for a shorter trip as seventh-seeded Carlsbad (25-9) will host the Dolphins at 6 p.m.
On Tuesday, the host Lancers beat Pacific Palisades Palisades, 25-11, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23.
Roberts was outstanding in her final match of an inspiring four-year career. She’ll head to Boise State in the fall to play beach volleyball.
“That ending wasn’t what we wanted, but coming from last year when we lost almost all of our starters, we didn’t know how this year was going to go,” said Roberts, who finished with a match-high nine kills. “Playing so well and exceeding all expectations that we had. I’m super proud of everyone. Everyone really stepped up this year, and we did great just coming as a team together and playing together.”
Ngo started but was clearly hampered and finished with just one kill. Junior middle Peyton Erickson chipped in with six kills, two stuff blocks and an ace.
Sophomore outside Lucy Tellers contributed four kills and two aces and sophomore pin Alani Mata’afa and Roberts’ sophomore sister Violet each added two stuff blocks.
Back-to-back kills from Viv Roberts kept the Wolverines within five midway through the first set, but the hosts made four errors on the Dolphins’ final six points. Westview made 11 errors in that first set.
The second set was much of the same. Westview took its first and only lead of the match on an Erickson block and a Tellers ace to go up 3-2. Erickson’s ace made it 16-15 Dana Point, but the visitors scored six of the next seven.
Seven errors awaited Westview in a third set in which they got to within two points just once.
“I’m just happy we even got to this point of being in state again and being able to be in a position where we could have gone all the way,” said Nguyen, who tore her left ACL in July and made the decision to play with it and delay surgery until December. “Everyone on the team is my close friend. It had a bigger impact on me than I thought it would.”
The Wolverines were one of two teams — the other was Cathedral Catholic — to take a set off Torrey Pines this season. They yet again cemented their spot in the ultra-competitive Open Division.
A loss Tuesday doesn’t damper the accomplishments of seniors Viv Roberts, Nguyen and defensive specialist Peyton Jensen.
“It’s bittersweet obviously, because four years I’ve been with them,” Roberts said. “Four years, we’ve always been together on a team. And to leave with them, it’s sad, but we left a mark. We did good. I was happy to do it with them.”
If wins and losses don’t define this group’s legacy, certainly what they’ve overcome to get here does.
Nguyen played through what is sometimes a career-ending injury. Roberts lost her father to a long battle with cancer the summer before her junior year. And Jensen’s father battled and beat cancer in the last couple years.
“They’ve been through things; like real-life things,” an emotional Ros said. “And they’ve maintained such great attitudes. So we’ll miss them. It’s a good group.”