Kennedy girls volleyball tops Grant in five sets to reach City finals

VAN NUYS — No matter what went wrong, the Kennedy girls volleyball team bounced back and found a way.

The Cougars overcame a slow start and a bumpy fourth set to defeat Grant, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 15-8, in the LA City Section Division I semifinals Tuesday night at Grant High.

Kennedy advances to the City title match for the first time in three seasons.

“I’ve been telling them all season long, it’s all about keeping the energy up and just executing,” said Kennedy  coach Johnny St. Pierre. “We have all the talent in the world. I told them that the only thing we can’t get beat on is energy and effort. If we continue to push those, no team in the City can beat us.”

Kennedy and University will meet in the Division I final Saturday at 6 p.m. at Birmingham High School.

While the offense carried the load in some sets, Kennedy’s serving was key in the fifth game. The Cougars (31-9) went on multiple big runs in set five, including a 5-0 run with junior Ariana Lopez serving after being down 6-3.

Lopez added two of her four aces in the run, where her float serve gave the Grant serve receive fits.

Lopez finished the match with 11 kills as Kennedy earned its third five-set win of the season.

“In the beginning of summer, our biggest goal was making it to the championship,” Lopez said. “I’m a junior. Over the last two years, we haven’t made it this far. So for this year, we’re like, ‘we have to push and get as far as we can, and give it our all, 100%. No matter what team we play, we’re gonna give it all.’”

Also coming up big for Kennedy from the end line was libero Isabela Barnett. The libero didn’t start the match but played a strong game after entering in set two.

Barnett kept Grant (25-6) out of system with her serving and added a service ace to close out the night.

“Huge,” St. Pierre said of the libero’s serving in the fifth set. “She’s been a foundation point of our defense all season long. And without her, we wouldn’t be here at this point.”

Grant was tough to put the ball away against. The Lancers are one of the scrappiest teams in the section and showed why opponents struggle to score against them early on. Grant took the first set comfortably and looked like it was well on its way to its sixth straight win.

However, Kennedy adjusted and found a way. The Cougars were quicker to the ball and made better passes, which led to a growth in their kills in three straight sets.

Kennedy senior Aliah Richards led all players with 14 kills along with two aces.

“This is only the second time I believe in school history that we’ve made it this far, so I’m just super proud of this group,” St. Pierre said. “It all starts with our captain, Aliah. With all the hard work she’s put in for this team, without her, we wouldn’t be here to this point. She’s the heart and soul of this team.”

Grant stormed out of the gates in set four and blasted off a 6-0 run to start. It won the set to make it 2-2 and set up the decisive fifth set.

Seniors Keba Campbell and Maliyah Winston led Grant with 11 kills each. Campbell also added a match-high three blocks.

Kennedy reaches the title match game for the first time since 2022. It will face the team that defeated the Cougars in that championship match.

“I want to see my teammates play even better against even harder teams, so we could have that challenge,” Lopez said. “We want to be a team and enjoy this moment together, because you never know if it’s gonna be your last.”