Pali High Spikers Pound Venice

Palisades versus Venice.

When it comes to girls volleyball, the two schools have ruled the Western League for years now and whenever the beach rivals meet the matches are contested with playoff intensity. Frequently they are decided by a few points.

However, "mismatch" would be the best way to describe Monday's first encounter of the season. It took the Dolphins fewer than 60 minutes to sweep the reigning league champions out of the gym, 25-10, 25-8, 25-18.

"I knew we would beat them if we just served to certain spots on the court because I could see that some of their girls couldn't pass," Palisades High assistant coach Anthony Elizondo said. "We had them out of sync and out of their offense right from the beginning. We didn't let them run the plays they wanted."

The Gondoliers (2-7 overall, 1-2 in league) won both regular season meetings last season before Palisades got revenge in the City Section Division II semifinals, upsetting Venice in four sets and going on to sweep Sun Valley Poly in the championship match.

"The focus right now is on our side of the court," Venice Coach Allen Hunt said. "We're a little younger [than last year] and ball control is a problem. We have a new setter so we're trying to improve our serve reception and the speed of our attack."

Venice's two senior captains, outside hitter Molly Lieske and middle blocker/outside hitter Jeanette Shekelle, never got on track against the Dolphins and by the third set Palisades Coach Chris Forrest had gone to his bench to give some of his reserves playing time.

"We have to keep improving, but I think second in league is definitely possible," Hunt said. "I'd like to see us finish runner-up and get a top four seed in the playoffs."

As for Forrest, he has loftier goals for the Dolphins. He believes the team is good enough to stay unblemished in league, capture a second straight City title and do some damage in the CIF state tournament.

To prepare his team for what lies ahead, Forrest scheduled a pair of elite tournaments over the last two weekends—Sept. 16-17 at the Archbishop Mitty Invitational in San Jose and last Friday and Saturday at the La Jolla Beach City Invitational in San Diego County.

Palisades finished 1-3 in San Jose, losing in bracket play to Presentation of San Jose, defeating Campolindo of Moraga and losing to Bakersfield Frontier and El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge. The Dolphins lost in four sets to Los Angeles Marlborough of the Southern Section on Sept. 20, then swept Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, 25-8, 25-10, 25-6, in their league opener the next day. 

The Dolphins (6-7, 2-0) tied for first in pool play in La Jolla, going 2-1 with victories over Olympian of Chula Vista and Dimond of Anchorage, Alaska and a loss to Canyon Crest Academy of San Diego on the first day. Palisades was placed in the Silver Division, where it lost to West Hills of Santee in Saturday's first match, defeated Valhalla of El Cajon in its second match, then fell to Clovis East, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10, in its final match

Forrest described the Dolphins' play as "up and down," which would explain why his team finished the tournament with a 3-3 record. He has made numerous lineup changes to find the right formula.

"All of the teams we lost to we could've beat but we were inconsisent and the stats reflect that," Forrest said. "We keep giving up big runs. Passing is the biggest issue, but hopefully we'll have it all figured out by the playoffs."

In the City, Forrest cited Taft, Van Nuys, Eagle Rock, Poly and Venice as the main threats in Division II and given the ease with which the Dolphins handled Venice on Monday, they look to be the favorites.

Junior outside hitter Shanna Scott, who was injured for most of last season but returned in the postseason and contributed greatly to the Dolphins' championship run, is again injured. Forrest won't speculate how long she'll be out but hopes she is back in time for the playoffs. 

"At this point [in the season] their bodies are pretty taxed," Forrest said. "I'm just hoping we can avoid any more major injuries because we want to win City again. I'll be pretty disappointed if we don't."

Palisades travels to Hamilton for a Western League match Wednesday. 

Set Scores

1

2

3

4

5

Final

Venice

10

8

18

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0

Palisades

25

25

25

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3

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