Lady Warrior's volleyball makes it to consolation quarterfinals

Fallbrook High School's girls volleyball team reached the consolation quarterfinals of the October 1-2 Scripps Ranch Tournament.

The Warriors won two matches while losing four in the tournament.

"We did okay," said Fallbrook coach Peter Peng.

Fallbrook finished fourth among the five teams in its pool and posted a 1-2 record in pool play. The Warriors began the tournament with a 25-27, 21-25 loss to Ramona. The Warriors had a seven-point lead in the first game before the Bulldogs overcame their deficit.

"Midway through the Fallbrook game we had a little day of reckoning," said Ramona coach Connie Halfaker.

Halfaker explained that the Bulldogs had been plagued by hesitation and by Ramona's players confusing each other.

"We just kind of went uphill from there the rest of the tournament," she said. "Things were starting to come together."

Halfaker believes that the victory was Ramona's first ever over Fallbrook. "Whenever you hit a milestone for your program, it's encouraging and satisfying," she said.

The two teams last played each other in the 2009 Palm Desert Tournament. Fallbrook defeated Ramona and won the tournament championship.

"Last year we caught them," Peng said. "This year they got us back."

Ramona would win a more important championship in 2009, taking the CIF Division II title.

"It wasn't disappointing," Peng said of Fallbrook losing to a defending CIF champion.

Kendall Haldi led Fallbrook with six kills, four blocks, and three serving aces. Talia DeFalco had 11 assists against the Bulldogs while Krista Sather contributed 17 digs.

The Warriors were also unable to hold a lead against Brawley after that match went to a third game. Brawley's 25-13 win in the first game was countered by Fallbrook's 25-23 triumph in game two. The Warriors led 14-11 in the third game, but the Wildcats survived match point and eventually earned a 17-15 victory to win the match. Haldi had eight kills and five blocks against the Wildcats; Suzi Mellano contributed five kills and four blocks, and DeFalco had 22 assists, four blocks, and four aces.

Fallbrook salvaged fourth place in pool play with a 25-17, 25-11 win over Oceanside.DeFalco led the team with ten kills and 18 assists while Rachel Pell added six kills and three blocks.

The Saturday portion of the tournament began with a bracket seeding match. Fallbrook won the first game of that match against Del Norte by a 25-22 score, but the Nighthawks won 25-20 and 15-11 games to take the match. Haldi led the Warriors with seven kills against Del Norte; DeFalco contributed 16 assists, and Dianne Cholger had nine digs.

Fallbrook's first elimination match was against Oceanside, and the Warriors advanced to the consolation quarterfinals with a pair of 25-18 victories over the Pirates. Haldi had six kills, DeFalco provided 14 assists, and Cholger led the Warriors with eight digs.

The quarterfinal against Gahr High School in Cerritos saw the Gladiators prevail by a 25-22 score in the first game. Fallbrook came back for a 25-20 triumph in game two, but Gahr advanced to the semifinals with a 15-11 win in the third game. Mellano attained 11 kills for the Warriors while Haldi added seven kills. DeFalco had 24 assists against the Gladiators.

"A lot of close games; it's just a matter of finishing," Peng said.

"We're clicking in a lot of ways," Peng said. "It's just a matter of the little things."

Fallbrook's 2-4 tournament record gave the Warriors an overall season record of 5-11.

"It was really good for us for league," Peng said of the tournament competition.