The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
It’s no longer a surprise when Lakewood ends up in a gritty five-set battle — the Lancers have played four of them over the last two postseasons. But for the first time in that stretch, they ended up on the wrong side of an intense five-setter.
Coming off a 19-17 fifth set in their first-round win, Lakewood seemed poised for a quicker match against Providence on Thursday night. The Lancers overcame multiple deficits while taking the first two sets, but couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities down the stretch, falling 25-22, 25-23, 27-29, 24-26, 16-18.
“It sucks to lose, but it’s a growing experience for a young team,” said Lakewood coach Adam Wadley. “I wish our seniors would’ve had a longer journey but this is what playoff volleyball is all about. Unfortunately our time is done but I’m very proud of my girls and the way they fought this season.”
Lakewood fought off multiple set points in the final three sets, all of which went to extra points. The Lancers even trailed 7-0 to open the fifth, but used a 13-5 run to rally back before earning two match points. Providence closed the match on a 4-1 run to cap a back-and-forth fifth set and punch its ticket to the quarterfinals.
“That was one of the scrappier teams we’ve played in a long time and that made us work even harder,” Wadley said. “We were going with it in those first two sets but [Providence] earned it in the last few sets. It is what it is. We were aggressive at the end so I’m happy with how we played.”
The Lancers had an efficient night from their middles, who combined for half of Lakewood’s 48 total kills. Middle blocker Aaryn Hunter had a team-high 12 kills on .194 hitting, while getting in on four total blocks. Alizae Leilua led the team with 32 digs and four aces, while freshman setter Mialani Mapu racked up 27 assists.
“Those middles have been one of our main points of scoring,” Wadley said. “ When we were in system I had a really good feel about them scoring, and all three middles that played really well.”
But the Lancers weren’t always able to stay in system, and Wadley said his team’s first touch became a struggle as the match went on. On the flip side, the Royals cleaned up their passing and were able to feed junior hitter Nasiyah Chapman, who finished with a match high of 16 kills on a .273 hitting percentage.
“It was just about our defense and having a better first touch on our side of the court,” he said. “Unfortunately they got the points that they needed and we didn’t. It sucks right now but at the end of the day they fought and had a great season.”
Lakewood overcame a 6-1 deficit to open the first set and battled back from a pair of five-point holes in the first and second. The Lancers responded with runs of five and six points, feeding outside hitters Jenna Smith and Trinity Tagaloasa early and often. Tagaloasa finished with 11 kills while Smith added nine.
The Lancers had multiple chances to secure the win in the third and fourth sets, and used a 7-1 run in the third to take a lead before earning set point at 25-24. Lakewood then faced set point in the fourth and scored consecutive points to tie the set before dropping the final points en route to the fifth.
“One of the things with the playoff equity now is that you really don’t know what the skill level looks like, and they were a good team,” Wadley said. “We scouted them pretty well, but they just got more points than us at the end.”
Providence will move on to host Wiseburn DaVinci on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs.
