South East High School Girls’ Volleyball clawed their way into playoffs

The Jaguars storm onto the court after erasing a nine-point deficit in the fourth set and defeating no. 10 University High School. Photo by Miguel Moran/ Jaguar Times.

As fall sports came to an end, playoffs were the new goal. Sadly, that is not the case for some teams. Fortunately, the girls’ volleyball team made the playoffs.

The girls managed to squeeze into playoffs with an 8-10 overall record and a 3-9 league record. They got the no. 7 seed in the Division II Los Angeles City Section playoffs.

“I [felt] very excited and very proud of my team because we worked really hard,” said Melissa Montes, a junior in the Visual and Performing Arts small school when she found out they made it to playoffs.

Their first opponent was no. 10 seed University High School. The game was played in “The Jungle.” The girls won the first two sets with scores of 26-24 and 25-21, but dropped the third one by a score of 25-17.

“In the third set, we kind of had a little breakdown,” said head coach Kenneth Carter. “We tend to have those when we don’t talk and there’s no communication,” added Carter.

Being down by nine in the beginning of the fourth set, the fans and both teams thought the game was going to a decisive fifth set, but the Jaguars clawed their way back and won dramatically, by a score of 25-22.

The win in four sets sealed the victory for the Jaguars.

“I’m just very excited and happy that we [made] it to the next round,” said Anelly Perez, a senior in the Tech and Media Magnet.

The Jaguars had advanced to the quarterfinals. Their next opponent was no. 2 seed Eagle Rock High School.

The Jaguars lost to the Eagles in straight sets by scores of 25-13, 25-14, and 25-16. The loss marked the end of the Jaguars’ playoff run.