Poway High School’s girls’ varsity volleyball lost three out of four games against Rancho Buena Vista on Nov. 15, ending their CIF run in the semifinals.

Rancho Buena Vista kicked the game off by scoring the first ten points leaving Poway sadly in the dust. The first game’s ending score was 25-17.

The second game played echoed the first with an upsetting Rancho Buena Vista win of 27-25. Despite the first two losses, Poway still had the enthusiasm to keep pushing against Rancho Buena Vista’s team.

As the third game whirled around, Poway got their fight back. During the third game, their spirit gained momentum with an increase of digs, kills and aces pulling out a win of 25-17.

The fourth game was a let down as Rancho Buena Vista produced an unfortunate win of 25-15.

Team captain, senior Emily Fett, kept the energy alive through the four rough games. Junior Becca Grant spiked almost every ball that senior Kelly Darlymple and sophomore Kelsey Horvath sent her way.

“RBV came out very prepared and played aggressively,” Head Coach Breezy Amport said. “And I think maybe that caught us a little off guard.”

This loss took the girls out of the running for a CIF title and ended their season; it is safe to say that the team put a lot of effort into the game.

“It was a disappointing ending, but at the same time the student section really had a great time watching some great wins and comebacks,” fan junior Dakota Ethridge said. “The result of the game does not reflect how good the team really is.”

It may have been a wet and dreary day, but the unpleasant weather did nothing to dampen the cross country team’s spirits as they placed well at their Palomar League Championship meet, which took place on Nov. 12, at Kit Carson Park in Escondido.

Their fourth place overall rank, despite other tough competitive schools, is an indication of how hard the runners have been working throughout the entire season.

“Our team has shown great improvement. All other teams have kind of dropped off in skill, but our team has continued to get better,” senior varsity captain Chris Tansey said.

Standout runners who placed in the top 25--an impressive feat--include senior Eric Hayen, who earned fifth place, Tansey, who got ninth, senior Michael Parkes, who got

15th, and junior John Corotis, who got 25th. The girls’ team had a bit of a challenge

according to senior Savannah Howe, but they still performed well with five girls in the top 25.

Top runners include freshmen Jill Godfrey and Christie Ackley, sophomore Hannah Schwartz, and seniors Howe, Maddy Ward, and Amanda Shoemaker.

Despite the last minute change throwing the team for a loop, they were still able to perform successfully. Although the grounds were muddy, “we are lucky because it didn’t actually rain during our race, just before and after,” Howe said.

As CIF approaches, the team has confidence, but an awareness of the stiff competition. “Our goal is to get in the top three at CIF,” Hayen said.

The San Diego CIF championship meet will be in San Diego at Morley Field on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Volleyball spiked down by RBV in round three

10 SportSNov. 18, 2011

Iliad

Freshman Charity Monroe has been one of the most devoted tennis players on her JV team.

Monroe not only practices five days a week with her teammates at school, but also practices twice a week outside of school during the tennis season.

Although she started off on JV, she was quickly pulled up to varsity because of her outstanding talent. JV Coach Phillis said,

“Charity has such a positive outlook. She is a great team member, and I certainly enjoyed coaching her. She always fought hard on her matches and listened and tried to implement any suggestions that I gave her.”

Monroe has been playing tennis for three years and says that she was drawn to tennis because “it is something I can improve on both individually and as a team.”

Monroe adds, “I really enjoy the mental challenge in tennis. It pushes me to change both my mental and physical ability. I just really love tennis.”

Cross Country Runs OnCIF: rain or shine, on land or in

water, Titan athletes battle hard in fall season play-offs

Although he’s only a sophomore, Cody Morales is out to prove that he deserves a spot on varsity cross country. Morales, who runs both track and cross country, plans to continue with both until he graduates.

Morales said his favorite part of cross country is the “constant support from my teammates.” JV coach Mark Embrey said Morales is a “dedicated athlete who consistently

seeks to improve his performance.” Morales raced in the league meet on

Saturday, Nov. 12, and placed 11th for Poway boys.

Although Morales said that he had hoped to do better, his opponents in the meet consisted of mostly juniors and seniors. Morales was one of only two sophomores to race in the meet, the other being Jack Chintala.

Morales hopes to start the next cross country season as a varsity runner, and possibly run in next year’s CIF meet.

Player prospect: Cody MoralesETHAN DECKERCopy Editor

Up and coming sophomore Mackenzie Hall was the star of the girls’ JV volleyball team. This was Hall’s second year playing for JV; this year, she helped the team by playing as a middle blocker and being the leading blocker.

Coach Dave White describes Hall as being “a very dynamic player, she takes charge of the court and makes smart swings.”

Because of her stunning

performance on the JV team, Hall was moved up to varsity for the CIF games.

Hall states her recent promotion as “a really great opportunity. I love all the girls on the team, and playing at a higher level is beneficial for me as a player.”

Looking towards the future, everyone in the girls’ volleyball program is excited to see how Hall will flourish in her skills as a player and benefit the varsity team in the next couple of years.

Player prospect: Mackenzie Hall

LEAH SARNOFFEntertainment Editor

ROSLYN AKELStaff Writer

Player prospect: Charity Monroe

CARLY METZStaff Writer

WILL SMITHERSStaff Writer

MEGAN MILLERPhotographer

DOWN TO THE GROUND: Kendall Sieber, Emily Fett, and Kelly Dalrymple scramble for the ball in the semifinals against Rancho Buena Vista. The longhorns won three games to the Titan’s one. MEGAN MILLER // The Iliad

Tennis retires their rackets after hard loss to Westview

Wednesday, Nov. 16, marked the end of this year’s Girls’ Tennis. The last doubles team (the only doubles teams qualified) lost in CIF In-dividuals.

Two doubles teams made it to Individual CIF: the unseeded wild card team of Mia Sciu-to and Giulianna Crivello and the number 16 seed Kathryn Klahn and Giovanna Crivello.

Sciuto and Crivello made it to the second round of CIF, but were eliminated by a team from Del Norte.

Klahn and Crivello won their first match against West Hills.

“We played really well,” Klahn said. They carried their determination and ability into the next round against La Jolla Country Day,

the number four seed, however they quickly lost. “They were really good, they were put-ting them away before we could get to them,” Klahn continued. Having performed well, Klahn had no problem predicting that “they’ll win the whole tournament.”

Finishing the regular season 5 in 19, playoff expectations were not the brightest for Team CIF’s. Competing against 16 teams last week, Poway was the number 8 seed. The first round resulted in a clutch win at 10-8. “It came down to me and Sarah [Warcup], and we won,” Se-nior Krista Holtzman said. The next round against Westview resulted in a speedy loss.

Reflecting on the season, Klahn spoke with nostalgia. “We all got along. Sucks that it’s over.” Playing in a league with tough competi-tors, most members are most proud of their win against Ramona.