It took a dramatic fifth game win over visiting Southwest on Oct. 11 but Hilltop’s girls volleyball team managed to secure sole possession of this year’s South Bay League championship.
The league title adds to those previously won in 1982, 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2016 (co-championship).
Hilltop staged a late rally to win the opening set against Southwest, the Lancers’ chief challenger in league play, to win 26-24. The Raiders won a hotly contested second set 28-26 before Hilltop went back on top 25-21 in the third set.
The Raiders won the fourth set 25-19 to tie the teams at two wins apiece. Hilltop stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the deciding fifth set before the visitors rallied to narrow the score to 12-11 and 13-12. But the Lancers were the first team to reach 15 points in the tiebreaker to win 15-12.
Hilltop improved to 8-0 in league play, 22-4 overall, while Southwest dropped to 5-3 in league play with two league games remaining on the regular season schedule.
“We’ve been playing flat the last couple games — it seems we need to be the underdog to light a fire under us,” noted Hilltop coach Tyler Reeves, whose team entered this week second in the San Diego Section Division IV power rankings to High Tech High San Diego (18-8).
“We’re not the tallest team, we’re not the most athletic team, we serve well, we play good defense and try to limit our mistakes. Somehow we’re 22-4.”
Reeves said preseason goals for the team were to be league champions and rate among the top four teams for the upcoming Division IV playoffs.
“We’ve beaten some teams with six-foot-tall girls; we have taken down some good teams,” Reeves said.
The same can be said about Southwest, which entered this week ranked first among the section’s Division V teams. The Raiders improved to 16-8 on the season after sweeping O’Farrell Charter on Monday 3-0.
The section playoffs start Tuesday, Oct. 23, for Division I and Division III teams and on Wednesday, Oct. 24, for Division IV and Division V teams. Quarterfinals follow Oct. 26-27 and semifinals Oct. 30-31.
The Division IV and Division V championship games are scheduled Nov. 2 at Canyon Crest Academy. Cathedral Catholic High School will host the remaining four divisional finals on Nov. 3.
It could be an exciting second season for both Hilltop and Southwest, in particular.
