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SPORTS<br />
Improved CHS volleyball team marches forward in CIF play<br />
Claremont High School girls volleyball<br />
swept past their first challenger<br />
in the CIF playoffs Tuesday<br />
night, defeating the Sonora Raiders of La<br />
Habra, 3-0.<br />
The victory marked the culmination of a storybook<br />
season for the girls, with a 9-1 record in league play<br />
SPORTING<br />
LIFE<br />
and the Pack’s first league title<br />
since 1998.<br />
Watching the team play, their talent<br />
is obvious. With smooth, confident<br />
motions, they effortlessly get the ball where their<br />
top hitters will get a kill. And boy, did they get kills<br />
Monday, led by Simone Bliss with 14 and Emilee<br />
Rohrer with 12.<br />
Claremont came out strong in the first set—going<br />
up by three before Sonora got on the board—and<br />
pretty much maintaining a five-point lead all the way<br />
to the 25-17 finish.<br />
The second set was a different story, with Sonora<br />
holding a narrow lead until the Pack tied at the score<br />
at 8. From there Claremont reasserted their dominance,<br />
limiting the Raiders to just seven more points<br />
on the way to an eventual 25-16 win.<br />
The second set also saw a large number of points<br />
given up through serving errors, including four by<br />
Claremont. Claremont coach Dan Reighter indicated<br />
that he was pushing his team to try more difficult<br />
serves, which may have accounted for the ones that<br />
missed.<br />
The final set was more like the first, with Claremont<br />
controlling the pace and, even though Sonora<br />
tied the score twice, it was the most lopsided victory<br />
for Claremont with a 24-10 final result.<br />
In spite of the lopsided score both teams played<br />
skillfully, including execution of some amazing saves.<br />
The Pack had some great defensive plays and passing,<br />
with 14 digs from Bel Grabowski; 22 assists from<br />
Kylie Robinson; and 15 assists from Merisa Marquez.<br />
Robinson also had four serving aces.<br />
The girls program at Claremont has been a revolving<br />
door for head coaches recently, so Coach Reighter<br />
being able to pull off a league title in his first year is<br />
an accomplishment.<br />
“I have to give it more to the girls than myself,” he<br />
said following the game. “The seniors have had four<br />
Claremont COURIER/Friday, November 4, 2016 14<br />
COURIER photos/Steven Felschundneff<br />
Claremont junior Emilee Rohrer gets pumped up with her teammates prior to the first round CIF playoff tournament<br />
game against Sonora on Tuesday in Claremont. The Pack, who easily won the game 3-0, will be<br />
back in action on Thursday in the second-round game against Gahr.<br />
coaches in four years, but they really came together<br />
and picked up the pace. I just had to make sure they<br />
stayed together.”<br />
Bliss had a great game both on offense and defense<br />
and, along with Rohrer, showed some leadership as<br />
well. “She [Bliss] is definitely one of the top two<br />
players on the team. It will be interesting without her<br />
next year, but some of the players we have coming up<br />
should be good,” Coach Reighter said.<br />
If Claremont prevails in the Gahr game Thursday,<br />
November 3 in Cerritos, they will be back in Claremont<br />
on Saturday. Be sure to see our updated coverage<br />
at claremont-courier.com on Friday.<br />
—Steven Felschundneff<br />
steven@claremont-courier.com<br />
ABOVE: CHS senior Simone Bliss returns a shot<br />
early in the Pack’s 3-0 victory over Sonora in the first<br />
round of the CIF playoffs. Bliss had a game high 14<br />
kills and played a key defensive role as well.<br />
AT LEFT: Claremont junior Kylie Robinson and senior<br />
Nicole Omwanghe team up to block a shot.
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