GRANADA HILLS — A burst pipe left Chatsworth’s girls volleyball team without its regular gym for about a month. Its usual two- to three-hour practices were cut to just one hour.
Even with less time to practice, the Chancellors beat Granada Hills Charter in five sets, 27-29, 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 21-19, Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs.
The No. 5 seed Chancellors (31-16) will play at No. 1 seed El Camino Real on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the regional semifinals.
“We’ve been practicing in our small gym and our practices got cut down to an hour,” Chatsworth senior Makena Ronquillo said.
Ronquillo said the varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams had to take turns practicing in the smaller gym.
“Usually we practice from two to three hours,” Ronquillo said.
Ronquillo said water came through the roof when it rained and got into the gym floor. She said the repairs are finished.
Chatsworth coach Sina Aghassy said Thursday was his first road win in the state playoffs. Aghassy has won seven City championships coaching the school’s boys and girls volleyball teams.
He said the team watched some film before facing No. 4 seed Granada Hills, but much of its focus was on settling down on the court and how the Chancellors themselves were playing.
Thursday’s quarterfinal was the fourth meeting between the teams this season. Ronquillo described Granada Hills and Taft as two of Chatsworth’s biggest rivals.
Chatsworth beat Granada Hills twice during the regular season, once in a tournament and once in league play. Granada Hills won their other league match.
Chatsworth got ahead early in several sets. Granada Hills fell behind but began catching up midway through, making saves to keep the rallies going.
Granada Hills (22-19-1) won the first set 29-27 before Chatsworth took the next two 25-19, putting the Chancellors a set away from advancing.
The Highlanders responded with a 25-20 fourth-set win. In the fifth, the teams played past the usual 15-point finish before Chatsworth won 21-19.
Senior Addison Flores led the Chancellors with 18 kills. Senior Caterina Gambaro had 14 kills and two blocks, and Ronquillo added 12 kills.
Gambaro and Flores helped Chatsworth with its blocking. They said the team communicates well and that the players hang out off the court and sit together at lunch. They said the energy in the gym made them want to play harder.
Asked about Chatsworth’s blocking, Granada Hills coach Donaldo Morales said the Chancellors had some big players.
The Highlanders made several saves to keep the rallies going. Morales said they work on that in practice but missed some Thursday. He said he told his players they had to give it their all to keep the ball in play.
Chatsworth won the teams’ September tournament match 2-1, lost 3-1 at Granada Hills on Sept. 28 and won 3-1 at home on Oct. 14.
El Camino Real won both league meetings against Chatsworth in five sets, while Chatsworth won their tournament meeting 2-1.