BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON HIGH — Girls’ volleyball: Bell-Jeff takes No. 1 Hemet to the brink, losing CIF quarterfinal. Read more
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL - It’s another undefeated Santa Cruz League season for Bell-Jeff. When The Bellarmine-Jefferson High girls’ volleyball team was struggling during the early portion of the season, Coach Miguel Segura still had hope.
The coach figured his team would fight out of its funk in time to capture its sixth straight Santa Cruz League championship.
The Guards not only won the league crown, they did so without dropping a match in league play. Bell-Jeff finished 8-0 in league Tuesday with a 25-21, 25-13, 25-22, victory against host St. Anthony.
“I knew that sooner or later the girls would come around and start playing like I know that they could,” said Segura, whose squad increased its unbeaten league streak to 44. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win another league championship, and we were able to do that.”
Under Segura, Bell-Jeff (11-6-2) has the longest league-title winning streak of any team, in any sport, in the city.
Against St. Anthony, All-CIF Southern Section middle blocker Jocelyn Cervantes had 13 kills and 12 digs. Teammate Taryn Nelson had 10 kills and Amanda Maalouf contributed 32 assists.
“We’re almost to where I want us to be,” said Segura, a Bell-Jeff graduate. “I won’t say we’re completely there yet, but we have definitely improved.”
In early-season matches, the Guards struggled at times after the loss of some key players from last year’s team and the addition of athletes who were playing volleyball for the first time.
Next up for Bell-Jeff, ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division IV-A, is the playoffs, as the pairings will be announced today. Last season, the Guards made it to the division semifinals and in 2009 advanced to the first championship contest in program history.
“We have had some pretty good playoff runs the last few years,” Segura said. “We are hoping to have another run this year, and maybe we can win it all. We are looking forward to CIF.”
Jeff Tully
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BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON HIGH — For the third-straight season, the Bellarmine-Jefferson High girls’ volleyball team played its way to the CIF Southern Section quarterfinals.
The Guards found themselves in a tough fight early on in their elite-eight contest against a talented Pacifica Christian team. Although the Seawolves showed their ability to fight back, Bell-Jeff displayed an aptitude for closing out games, as it secured a 26-24, 22-25, 25-18, 25-16 Division IVAA victory Saturday at home.
“We were having problems with our serve, and that really threw us off,” said Bell-Jeff Coach Miguel Segura, whose squad advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season. “We lost a lot of points with our service mistakes.”
In the match, the Guards committed 15 service errors, including seven in the third game, which Pacifica Christian (22-8 and winners of the Heritage League) won.
In the first three games, Bell-Jeff — champion of the Santa Cruz League — had leads of six or seven points late in the stanzas, only to see Pacific Christian battle back.
The Guards were able to stave off the charges in every game but the second. Bell-Jeff enjoyed a seven-point advantage, 19-12, until Pacific Christian embarked on a 10-2 run to take the lead, 22-21. That run helped give the team momentum to win the game.
Jocelyn Cervantes paced the Guards with 22 kills.
“When we lost the second game I told them that we’re just going to have to fight back,” Cervantes said. “We knew we had to play better.”
Jeff Tully
BURBANK — Both the Bellarmine-Jefferson High and Burroughs girls’ volleyball teams had to hit the road Thursday for second-round postseason matches. Read more
BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON HIGH — Guards struggle at times, but still down St. Anthony and keep their Santa Cruz League dynasty intact. Read more
BURBANK - Bell-Jeff d. St. Anthony, 25-14, 25-19, 25-20: The Guards remained in first place in the Santa Cruz League with a victory Tuesday on the road Read more
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