BY ANDREW TURNER | STAFF WRITER 

OCT. 20, 2023 5 PM PT

DIAMOND BAR —  

A year removed from its second appearance in a CIF Southern Section final, much was different for the Pacifica Christian Orange County girls' volleyball team. The Tritons had a new coach, a new division, and were now without Rebecca Penjoyan, a formidable front-row force for the program in playoff runs of the past. Pacifica Christian traversed that unfamiliar road, placing second in the San Joaquin League in an effort that led it to Thursday night's first-round clash at Diamond Bar.

Junior middle blocker Chara Wondercheck had 19 kills, but the Tritons fell to the more-balanced Brahmas 25-23, 25-12, 23-25, 25-17 in a Division 5 playoff opener. Pacifica Christian (17-9), which was the runner-up in Division 7 last year, had several contributing players return from that team. Opposite Colleen O'Callaghan was the only senior among them. Ron Cheser, the first-year coach of the Tritons, said his team played with courage, but the performance lacked execution, especially in serve receive.

"We didn't have the swings we wanted," Cheser said. "We did not have the angle we wanted. Our passing, when that breaks down in this game, everything breaks down. It limits you. They did a really good job of keeping us off balance." Junior libero Charlotte Carlson had 15 digs for Pacifica Christian. Freshman outside hitter Sierra Leeper had four kills, seven digs and two service aces. O'Callaghan chipped in with three kills, eight digs and two aces, and sophomore setter Addie Roberson distributed 32 assists. "Effort-wise, they were communicating, they never gave up," Cheser said. "They never quit. It's just learning the game and learning in that moment how to take care of small things."

Junior middle blocker Zariah Crosby had 13 kills and four block assists to lead Diamond Bar (20-8). Senior outside hitter Priya George added a dozen kills and three block assists. Senior outside hitter Kaylin Mendoza pounded out 10 kills, senior opposite Samantha Doehla had nine kills, and junior outside hitter Eleni Kort provided five aces.

"I've got four seniors who were all sophomores on varsity," Diamond Bar coach Becky Bevans said. "This is their third go. This is their opportunity. We've got 10 seniors on this team. We're senior-heavy, and they knew coming into tonight it was kind of do-or-die, single-elimination, and this either ends the journey or gives you one more opportunity. That's what we really wanted." Diamond Bar had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back years. "Determination," Mendoza said when asked what the difference was with this team. "I feel like every year, we just got better. We just learned from our mistakes last year."