LAKE BALBOA — Ariana Lopez wasn’t going to miss her chance to deliver a match-ending kill that would make history for Kennedy’s girls volleyball team.
The senior outside hitter delivered the final blow in a win over Sherman Oaks CES, 18-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18, Saturday night in the LA City Section Division I final at Birmingham High.
It is the first Division I volleyball title in school history
“I was totally ready and was hoping our setter would send it to me,” said Lopez. “When I saw the pass, I was like ‘I want to finish this for us. This is our game. Our moment. So let’s finish it.’”
Lopez paced the Golden Cougars (30-14) with 16 kills.
“She is the most deserving of that last and final ball,” Kennedy coach John Galvan said. “To get a chance, an opportunity to put that ball away, is something that she’ll remember for the rest of her life. There’s no one else that I would trust more to put that ball away and get us a win.”
Lopez, who also had two blocks and two aces, delivered kills from all angles. Multiple times she registered kills from the back row and showcased a mix of power and finesse that proved difficult to stop.
“The best way I can describe it is if volleyball allowed four people to block the front row, she would still get through four blocks,” Galvan said. “That’s how unstoppable she is for us.”
The win avenged Kennedy’s regular-season loss to the Knights (29-15), who received strong play from Grace Rosa (7 kills, 2 aces), Mia Tokutake (7 kills) and Emily Polishchuk.
“We have a lot of respect for them,” Lopez said of Sherman Oaks CES. “We know they’re a good team. So coming in we were like ‘OK, we’re gonna study how they play and their techniques and all that stuff,’ because we wanted this one. After watching film we practiced how they did all that stuff and we came ready for this game.”
Kennedy senior Leanna Gonzales added 12 kills and senior Daniela Quezada chipped in 8 kills.
“It’s extremely hard to play defense against multiple offensive options,” Galvan said of his team’s versatility. “For us, it’s amazing to have those options. And all their hard work throughout the entire season, and throughout their four years of being part of this volleyball program, paid off.”
Both teams qualified for the CIF State playoffs that begin next week.