WESTLAKE VILLAGE – The Oaks Christian girls volleyball team got its revenge against Harvard-Westlake on Tuesday night, defeating the Wolverines, 25-19, 27-25, 25-21, in a pool play match in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at Oaks.
The Lions lost to Harvard-Westlake in five sets earlier this season, but entered Tuesday’s game better prepared.
Oaks Christian coach Julie Bennett said the Lions served and passed better than when the teams met in August.
“Well, I think there’s always a little something to lose to a team and knowing, you know, we had our chances to win,” Bennett said. “We served really well tonight and conversely, I think (we) had a better time than last time at their place.”
Despite injuries leaving Harvard-Westlake without several players, the Wolverines nearly took the second set before falling behind 2-0 in the set.
Elyse Wong and Malie Ogbechie helped lead the Lions’ offense, while Bennett said the team’s middle hitters also played a bigger role in creating scoring opportunities.
“I think our middles were more a part of our offense tonight, which just helped open things up more for them,” Bennett said.
Ogbechie said the Lions studied Harvard-Westlake’s offense and defense and even adjusted their practices based on what they saw.
“We watched a lot of film. We changed our practice style to mock some of the other team’s players,” Ogbechie said. “We coached specifically how they play their defense, how they play their offense, everything.”
She said the Lions also showed more composure than they had in the first meeting, especially when Harvard-Westlake kept the final two sets close.
Wong said the Lions focused on serving during practice, hoping to put pressure on Harvard-Westlake’s pass rushers.
“I think we put a lot of pressure on, like, the pass rushers on the other team,” Wong said. “We served hard and with purpose. We worked on serving during practice.”
Wong said the players have grown closer throughout the season, with the seniors helping to bring the team together. Before games, the Lions spend time together in the locker room, sometimes having dance parties.
Harvard-Westlake assistant coach Sammy Ramos said that even with several players injured, the Wolverines have a tight group of players that work well together on the court.
Ramos said Oaks Christian did a lot of research before the game and knew what to expect from Harvard-Westlake.
For Oaks Christian, the win was especially important after dropping its first Division 1 game to Santa Margarita.
Ogbechie said the team was determined not to repeat the previous loss to Harvard-Westlake.
“We came into this game ready for anything,” Ogbechie said. “We were so determined because this is one of our only chances we have to play them because they are not in our league.”
Oaks Christian will travel to Mater Dei for the next pool game on Saturday.
Bennett said Mater Dei has a rushing attack with some strong tackles, including middle tackles. She said Oaks Christian will have to play well to compete on Saturday.
