Pasadena Poly Girls Volleyball Upsets Westridge in 5 Set Thriller

Article and Photo by Christian Romo 

Panthers first-year Ella Mao (#13) did not expect to beat Westridge when she stepped into the arena, but by the end of the fifth set, she joined her teammates and rushed the floor to celebrate their victory.

Behind breakout performances from sisters Ella and Zoey Mao (#8), the visiting Poly Panthers (7-4) shocked the previously unbeaten Westridge Tigers (11-1) in five sets (27-25, 24-26, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) Tuesday night at Westridge School. The Panthers defended well against Westridge’s tenacious outside hitters and forced the Tigers into momentum-killing errors. “Overall, I’m really pleased,” said Poly coach Steve Beerman. “I think [Westridge] is going to win the CIF championship in their division, and I didn’t expect us to come in here on the road this early in the season and win.”

As first years, the Mao sisters have quickly established themselves as the featured hitters for the Panthers, despite Ella having just learned to set in the past two weeks and Zoey having never set at all. “What we’re asking them to do is above and beyond,” says Beerman, “and they’re amazing.” The task of playing one of the area’s best teams did not intimidate Zoey, however. “You kinda just have to give it your all,” she said, “don’t be scared to hit. If you give it your all, you know it’s going to go over.” When asked how happy she was with the win, Ella responded: “So happy. I was expecting to get crushed.”

The Tiger’s first official loss of the season, though unexpected, had a few bright spots. Junior Eryn Boken (#7) lead her team in an exciting third set, blocking and killing and jump-starting the Tiger offense. “I wanted to think about playing smart instead of with more power, and I was able to see the block better,” Boken said of her third set. “The kid’s a monster,” Westridge coach Otto Lacayo said of Boken. “When she does something well, she gets very excited, and the team feeds off of that.” Lacayo also praised senior Angelica Raymundo (#2), who spent most of the night furiously chasing balls on defense and effectively setting up her outside hitters. Lacayo described her as “everything to the team,” and she showed why as the most active player on either side of the floor.

Though the Tigers played hard, the night belonged to Poly, who showed that they could compete with the area’s best. Junior Halston Harper (#22) helped seal the victory in the fifth set with two late blocks, one on match point. Junior Natalie Clark (#15) also pitched in key blocks throughout the match, while senior Lucy Harvey (#17) shined on defense for the Panthers. With such a young team, the five-set win meant a lot to Beerman. “We’re watching them grow up in front of us,” he said. “They understand their roles, they’re embracing their roles, and they’re doing a good job.”

The Panthers look to continue their success Thursday at Firebaugh, while Westridge travels to league rival Chadwick on Friday at 5 P.M.

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