Volleyball Notebook: South Pasadena Loses Out on League Title

South Pasadena

After being one of the hottest teams in the area for the past month, the South Pasadena Tigers entered Thursday’s game against Temple City with a chance to clinch the Rio Hondo League regular season title. But the Tigers were overwhelmed by the Rams, losing 3-0 in the last game of the regular season for both squads.

The Tigers had a chance to make things interesting in the second set. After saving two set points, the Tigers had two of their own, but couldn’t pull through, ultimately losing the set 29-27.

“It was tough out there we got outplayed in nearly all aspects of the match. We nearly pulled it out in the second set, but I think our youthfulness hurt us today,” said Tigers coach Todd Terzian. “We start three sophomores, so I’m really excited about our future, but today it just wasn’t enough.”

The loss drops the team’s overall record to 13-18, despite being 6-2 in league play. Terzian is hoping that the CIF board will look at their body of work and not simply at their record.

“We played a brutal preseason,” he said. “But we have vastly improved as the year went on. I really hope we can catch a break and get a good seeding because I think we can make some noise with the right draw.”

Arcadia

While several of the top schools in San Gabriel were duking it out in the Crescenta Valley tournament, the Apaches of Arcadia were busy playing in the Redondo Classic. The team went 3-3 overall, including a loss to San Clemente, who finished runner up in the event.

The team got two marquee wins against Poway (San Diego) and Oak Park, a team that has gone 9-0 in the Tri-Valley League this season.

“We upset Poway, who was ahead of us in the rankings,” Apaches coach Charles Freberg said. “Then when we got to the gold division we beat Oak Park first and that was a great win probably our best win of the season.”

Unfortunately for Apache fans, they will not be carrying momentum into the playoffs, as they were upset by Crescenta Valley 3-1 in their last Pacific League game on senior night. The result is shocking to Arcadia fans, especially given the importance Freberg place on this matchup before the game.

“It will be the last league game in front of the fans, so I think my guys will give a great effort,” he said at the time. “It’s really important that we win because we want to sure up the two or three seed. That way, we avoid Burroughs until the finals.”

Now the Apaches must await their fate to see if this last second slip up costs them dearly in the Division 3 playoff seedings.

Crescenta Valley

The season hasn’t gone quite how the Falcons had anticipated. The team is just 10-14 on the season, and has gone 3-5 in league play. However, the Falcons did enjoy some success in the tournament they hosted this past weekend.

Crescenta Valley went 2-1 in their pool, beating La Canada and Montebello and losing to eventual runner up Oaks Christian. In the main draw, Crescenta Valley became the only team to win a set off of eventual champion Burroughs.

Despite their struggles all year, the season ends on a surprising high note. After losing at home to Arcadia earlier in the season, the Falcons pulled off a huge upset, beating Arcadia 3-1 on the road.

San Marino

The San Marino Titans went 3-3 in the Crescenta Valley tournament, finishing runner up in the consolation bracket of the Gold Division.

The Titans went 2-1 in their pool, losing only to the eventual champion Burroughs. They were able to record a win over St Francis and a comeback win over Paraclete, winning in three sets after dropping the first.

The Titans lost to eventual runner up Oaks Christian in the first round, pushing Oaks Christian in the second set, losing 30-28. From there, they knocked off Quartz Hill, but lost to South Pasadena in the next round to end their tournament.

The Titans ended their regular season on Thursday against Gabrielino.

Flintridge Prep

The season has been up and down all year for the Flintridge Prep Rebels. After losing six of seven earlier in the year, the Rebels have won three of five, and are hoping to end the season on a good note with a matchup with Rio Hondo Prep on Friday at home at 4:30 p.m. The Rebels current record is 8-13.

La Salle

Just like South Pasadena, La Salle entered the final game of the season with a chance to win the league against a team that already beat them earlier in the year, and just like South Pasadena, the game ended in disappointment.

La Salle lost to Cathedral 3-0 in their last game of the season on Monday. The loss dropped them to 18-8-1 on the season, and 6-2 in league, both losses coming to Cathedral. The Lancers now await their fate as the playoff brackets will be announced next week.