NEWHALL – Sierra Starkman stood in the service area, the senior waiting to deliver what she hoped would be one last swing to send Campbell Hall’s girls volleyball team further on in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
Her serve proved to be the final one of the match as a Hart defender sent the ball into the stands to her left, sealing a four-set victory, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21, in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The win didn’t come easy for the Vikings as they dropped the opening set – the first set they have lost in these playoffs — but they were able to fend off a hard-charging Hart squad to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
Hart was down two sets to one in the match and it led 21-17 in the fourth, just four points away from forcing what would have been a deciding fifth set.
But Starkman and Campbell Hall quelled Hart’s momentum that had been keyed by seniors Madi Maxwell and Maiah Jiz. Starkman and her teammates knew what they had to do to make that happen.
“I think we just realized that we needed to get back together as a team rather than trying to play individually and just take it point by point,” Starkman said when asked what changed to recapture their momentum.
An improved defense proved vital for Campbell Hall, a change spurred by adjustments that Starkman pointed out after the win.
“We started to notice their patterns and we shifted our defense to meet those patterns. … We shifted our defense, our libero Bella (senior Bella Marrero) and our DS’s (defensive specialists). They really shifted their spots into where Hart was hitting most of their points … and we were able to get it back,” Starkman said.
Hart put together a valiant effort on its home court, but this season’s Foothill League co-champions fell short Wednesday, ending their deepest postseason run since 2018.
Campbell Hall continued to look like a dominant force Wednesday, even after facing rare adversity against Hart. Starkman is confident in her team as it continues its quest to win a CIF-SS title.
“I have not for a second doubted any girl on our team,” she said, “and I think that’s what lets us thrive is the fact that we know there’s no weak link on our court, no matter what, and we’re always going to be there to pick up each other’s slack.”
The Gold Coast League champion Vikings will host South Torrance on Saturday. They will have a chance to reach a CIF-SS title game for the second consecutive season. They lost to Saugus in the 2022 Division 4 championship game.
Starkman and teammates will keep pushing as they try to make those hopes a reality.