La Reina girls' volleyball team reigns supreme in Tri-Valley League

BIG WIN-La Reina's Amanda Dobrucki bumps the ball during Tuesday's match at Oak Park High. The Regents won in four games. Last season Oak Park and La Reina split the Tri-Valley League's girls' volleyball championship. In front of a raucous crowd Tuesday night at Oak Park High, La Reina all but assured that history won't repeat itself this year.

After dropping the first game of the night, the Regents came back to defeat OPHS in a fourgame thriller by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-19 and 28-26.

With the victory, La Reina captured at least a share of the league championship for the 15th consecutive season. The Regents (172, 90) can win the title outright with a victory in any of their final three regular-season games, beginning tonight when they host Carpinteria.

"It's amazing. We've been united together this whole season," said La Reina senior hitter Lauren Anselmo, whose block in the fourth game sealed the win.

"To come together and win after working so hard is awesome."

Oak Park (12-11-1, 7-3) won a nipandtuck first game when senior middle blocker Sam Macks hammered home a kill over a pair of La Reina defenders.

The Eagles carried the positive momentum into the second game, eventually building leads of 4-0, 8-4 and 14-7.

But La Reina, a team that had only lost six games all season, refused to go quietly.

After being down 19-14 in Game 2, the Regents battled back to tie the score at 20. When Hanna Stoiberg found a soft spot in the Oak Park defense on the next possession, La Reina took a 21-20 lead and didn't look back.

"The defensive presence that we have as a team is the thing that keeps us in any match," La Reina head coach Don Hyatt said. "It's really tough for the other team to get the ball to the floor."

The Regents went on to win the third game in less dramatic fashion. The fourth game, however, was electric. With both teams battling back

and forth and the fans' emotions turning on every point, La Reina eventually built a 24-20 lead and was a single point away from putting Oak Park away.

But with their backs against the wall, the Eagles displayed the heart of a champion, fending off four consecutive match points to tie the score at 24.

La Reina quickly returned the favor, though, as the Regents thwarted a pair of game points by Oak Park before Anselmo's matchclinching block.

Anselmo finished with eight kills, four blocks and 17 digs. Stoiberg logged 16 kills and 16 digs, while Martyn Jacqueline had a team-high 23 digs.