Southwest High School is quickly becoming known for more than just being a soccer school.
Yes, futbol at the South San Diego School has certainly left its mark at both the conference, section and regional levels with multiple championship banners.
Last year, however, the Southwest boys basketball team made a history-making run to claim the Division V section championship and advance to the regional semifinals.
This year, chalk up a history-making performance by the school’s girls volleyball team.
The Raiders, seeded first in the Division V playoffs, swept second-seeded O’Farrell Charter 3-0 in last Friday’s section final at Canyon Crest Academy. Southwest (21-8) won by match scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-18.
Raiders head coach Norma Barba aptly called the turnaround in events this season “amazing.”
“This is the first time in school history the girls have made it to a CIF championship game, much less win,” Barba said. “I knew from the beginning of the season this was our year because I have such talented volleyball players on my hands. But at the beginning of the year talent meant nothing because we had no camaraderie that was being brought back from previous years.
“I had to instill the concept of no ‘I’ in team — that regardless of the outcome of our matches, we would win or lose together. The girls overcame the bad habit of screaming and yelling at each other when someone made a mistake. I also had to remind them I was the coach and the only one allowed to correct a mistake or give an instruction. Their job was to learn to support, trust and back each other up and once all those qualities came in place the girls became more than a team they now call each other sisters.”
Southwest finished runner-up in the South Bay League standings with a 7-3 league record. The Raiders lost twice to league champion Hilltop and once to San Ysidro.
Southwest recovered from a tight 3-2 loss at Hilltop on Oct. 11 to win its last three regular season games, including a 3-0 sweep of O’Farrell Charter on Oct. 15.
The Raiders extended that winning streak to six games after racking up three consecutive wins in the section playoffs, downing eighth-seeded Bonsall 3-0 in the quarterfinal round on Oct. 27, topping fourth-seeded San Ysidro 3-1 in the semifinals on Oct. 31 before downing O’Farrell Charter (18-18) in the championship game.
“Coming into the playoffs we knew we had to take it one game at a time,” Barba explained. The girls accomplished wins in the quarterfinal and the semifinal game by coming out with a can-do attitude. They brought that same can-do attitude to the final but started off on the wrong side of the leg due to nerves and pressure of coming out champions.
“All it took was one timeout, as we were down in the first set, to have them settle in and take it one point at a time because they were so anxious that it was causing them to give up points. We quickly made some defense adjustments and started attacking on offense and were fortunate to reach 25 first.”
Team leaders include Naylhea Serrano, who averages 15 kills each game, Norma Medel and Alyssa Zatarain, who average seven kills each game, Natalie Ramirez, who averages seven blocks and Amairani Nunez, who averages seven aces.
Regional playoffs
The division championship earned the Raiders a berth in the regional playoffs. Southwest, seeded fourth in the Southern California draw, edged 13th-seeded Orange Vista (20-11) 3-2 in Tuesday’s Division V opening round contest.
The Raiders, who defeated the visiting Coyotes by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 20-25, 15-11, advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Mammoth (23-19-1), with the winner advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
Thursday’s game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at Southwest High School.
Regional finals are scheduled Tuesday, Nov. 13. State championship games are scheduled Nov. 16-17 at Santiago Canyon College.
2018 SAN DIEGO SECTION
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS
Open Division: (1) Torrey Pines defeated (2) Cathedral Catholic 25-18, 29-27, 20-25, 25-22
Division I: (1) Santa Fe Christian defeated (3) Westview 3-1
Division II: (1) Sage Creek defeated (2) El Capitan 25-21, 25-15, 19-25, 25-18
Division III: (1) Maranatha Christian defeated (2) El Camino 26-24, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24
Division IV: (1) High Tech High San Diego defeated (6) Santana 25-18, 25-15, 21-25, 20-25, 15-7
Division V: (1) Southwest defeated (2) O’Farrell Charter 25-19, 25-19, 25-18
