Warrior spikers 4-2 at San Diego Fall Classic

Fallbrook High School’s volleyball team reached the quarterfinals of the Gold Division in the Sept. 6-7 San Diego Fall Classic tournament which opened the Warriors’ season.

The Warriors shared fifth place in the Gold Division while posting a 4-2 record in the tournament. “I think this was a great opening weekend for us,” said Fallbrook coach Robin Reese. “I’d rather not see any losses, but the losses that we had we learned from.”

Fallbrook was one of 36 teams in the San Diego Fall Classic. The Warriors played their Sept. 6 pool play matches at West Hills High School and finished second in their pool, behind eventual tournament winner West Hills.

All three of Fallbrook’s pool play matches were decided in two games. The Warriors won a pair of 26-24 games from Mission Vista before defeating Foothills Christian by larger margins.

West Hills defeated Fallbrook in two games, although the second contest ended with a 27-25 score. “We had a few breakdowns in serve-receive and then we missed a few serves at really critical times,” Reese said.

Reese and her players spent Sept. 7 at the Epic Volleyball Center in Poway and began competition with a seeding match against Granite Hills. The Eagles took the first game by a 25-19 margin. “Then the girls woke up and there was kind of no stopping them after that. They played really well the rest of the day,” Reese said.

Fallbrook’s 25-21 victory in game two was followed by a 15-10 triumph in the third game.

The Warriors’ first elimination match was a 27-25, 25-10 win against Calvin Christian. “It’s just a testament to our girls and the training in the off-season. They just didn’t tire,” Reese said of the larger second-game margin. “They held it together and the heat didn’t seem to bother them.”

The Epic Volleyball Center does not have air conditioning.

Fallbrook and Rancho Buena Vista will be Avocado West League opponents once league play begins. The quarterfinal match doesn’t count in the league standings but gave the Warriors an assessment of what they will need to do to defeat the Longhorns in league competition.

“Player-wise we’re pretty even,” Reese said. “The girls played great. It came down to really defense and blocking.”

Rancho Buena Vista and Fallbrook traded 25-16 results in the first two games before the Longhorns advanced to the semifinals with a 15-10 triumph. “We were so close,” Reese said. “That was a really tough loss.”

Sixty girls tried out for Fallbrook’s varsity, junior varsity, and novice squads this year. Reese had to cut some players and is keeping 15 girls on the varsity.

“Now we know exactly what we need to work on,” Reese said of the tournament.

The Warriors’ next tournament will be Carlsbad’s Sept. 20-21 Firebird Classic. Fallbrook’s first home game will be Oct. 1 against Canyon Crest.