First-round playoff loss finalizes volleyball record at 24-10

Fallbrook High School's girls volleyball team ended the 2011 season with a first-round playoff loss Nov. 8 at home against Rancho Bernardo, but even with the five-game loss the Warriors concluded the season with a 24-10 record.

"I'm happy for the kids. I think they feel very good about how the season turned out," said Fallbrook coach Peter Peng.

Fallbrook's record included a 9-1 mark in Avocado East League play which earned the Warriors their first league championship since sharing the Avocado League title in 2005. "I'm happy that the girls experienced the winning season," Peng said. "To experience a league championship is an honor."

The winning season was Fallbrook's first since the 2008 team went 20-14 in Peng's first year as the Warriors' coach, and Fallbrook had a winning league record for the first time since the 2007 squad had a 5-3 Avocado League mark under coach Galen Tomlinson.

The 2011 Warriors earned the eighth seed for the Division I playoffs, which matched what Fallbrook received in 2008. Three years ago, Fallbrook's ninth-seeded opponent was Otay Ranch, which received an automatic playoff home match due to the Mustangs' league championship, so the Warriors had to travel to Chula Vista for the first round of the playoffs. That was also Fallbrook's most recent playoff victory; the Warriors lost in the quarterfinals to La Costa Canyon. Fallbrook's 4-6 league record in 2008 shared third place.

The 2009 and 2010 teams both lost road matches in the first round of the CIF playoffs. Fallbrook's playoff home match in 2011 was the first the Warriors had since 2007, when they defeated Patrick Henry at home before losing to Poway in the quarterfinals.

Rancho Bernardo finished the 2011 regular season with a 10-7 non-league record but placed fourth in the Palomar League standings with a 4-6 mark. All six Palomar League teams earned berths in the Division I or Division II playoffs. Torrey Pines and Poway were the top Division I seeds while Westview was seeded third in the Division II playoffs. "They were battle tested for sure," Peng said of Rancho Bernardo.

Fallbrook and Rancho Bernardo had previously played each other Oct. 21 during pool play of the Southern California Invitational tournament. Fallbrook took 29-27 and 25-19 games from the Broncos. "Tournament play and match play are two separate things," Peng said.

The Broncos won the first playoff game by a 25-23 score. Fallbrook evened the match with a 25-19 victory. Game three ended with a 25-20 result in the Broncos' favor. The Warriors forced a fifth game with a 25-15 triumph in the fourth contest.

Fallbrook had a 10-6 lead in the fifth game before the rotation worked in favor of Rancho Bernardo. "They were definitely one of the stronger serving teams that we've seen all year," Peng said.

The Broncos prevailed by a 15-13 margin in the deciding game. "RB just fought their way back," Peng said.

"Both sides played very good defense," Peng said. "We committed more errors."

The win gave Rancho Bernardo a quarterfinals match against Torrey Pines. The top-seeded Falcons took a three-game victory over the Broncos and subsequently won three-game matches against Scripps Ranch and Rancho Buena Vista to win the Division I championship.

"I would have liked to have seen how we'd do against Torrey," Peng said. "It would have been interesting to see how we would have matched up against them."

Fallbrook's non-league losses included a match against Vista Murrieta, which had a state ranking comparable to that of the Falcons.

"I think the only disappointment in losing that playoff game was that we lost it at home," Peng said.

"The home crowd is great. Very supportive, very into it," Peng said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't reward them with the victory."

Freshman outside hitter Kendra Dahlke led the Warriors with 23 kills. Junior libero Tess Sutton and senior defensive specialist Dianne Cholger each had 21 digs. Senior middle blocker Rachel Day recorded nine blocks while Dahlke added four blocks. Senior setter Talia DeFalco led Fallbrook with 35 assists and with five serving aces; Day added four aces.

Fallbrook's seniors also included right side hitter Amanda Gibson and middle blocker Rachel Pell. In addition to the five seniors and Dahlke, the Warriors' varsity roster included five juniors and one sophomore.

"It matters just as much to me that our JV program experienced success, too," Peng said. "We've been building the program to where it can survive the next 2-3 years down the road."

Fallbrook had two junior varsity teams rather than a junior varsity and a novice squad. The JV Red team which played against junior varsity competition in league play had a 6-4 record in league matches and was 9-7 overall. The JV Gold team which faced novice opponents fared 5-5 in league competition and finished the season with an overall 11-8 mark. "We have three years worth of talent," Peng said. "I'm happy with that. I'm happy when your kids get rewarded for the work they put in."

Fallbrook's 2009 varsity finished 4-19, including a last-place 1-9 Avocado League record, although Fallbrook also won six of seven matches in the Palm Desert Tournament which did not count in the Warriors' overall record because they were not regulation-length. Injuries and illnesses limited the 2010 Warriors to a 10-22 overall record, including a fourth-place 4-6 Avocado East League mark. "The hardest part about a program is making sure you're deep all the way through," Peng said.

This year the Warrior starters stayed healthy. "Our starting rotation was very consistent," Peng said.