VOLLEYBALL CITY SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS : El Camino Real Falls Again to Palisades

El Camino Real High had rolled into the City Section 4-A Division girls’ volleyball final behind the outstanding play of sophomore hitter Jessica Dinaberg.

But Friday night at Cal State Northridge, Dinaberg’s exploits were not enough to prevent a 12-15, 15-4, 15-10, 15-0 loss to Palisades. The Dolphins (16-2) beat the Conquistadores for the second consecutive year in the final behind their twin towers of Wendy Hromadkaa and Sarah Schroeder.

Hromadkaa piled up 31 kills and 21 assists, and Schroeder added 21 kills and 25 assists in Palisades’ two-girl show, enabling the Dolphins to ring up their fourth City title in a row.

El Camino Real Coach Lori Chandler had a difficult time pinpointing what went wrong in the last three games.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “We just sort of fell apart. If we had played better and lost, it would have been easier for me to take.”

The hitting and blocking of Dinaberg and Hong helped El Camino Real (14-3) win a nerve-racking first game as the two squads showed their jitters with 16 service errors, nine by Palisades.

But Palisades, led by Hromadkaa with four aces, began to find the court with its serves in Game 2 and evened the match.

It was Hong’s serving and seven Dinaberg kills that helped the Conquistadores en route to a 9-7 lead in Game 3. But the Dolphins charged back behind six kills by Hromadkaa to take the game.

Palisades rolled to a 7-0 lead in the fourth game and then won the title with eight consecutive service points from Valeria Martin.

Dinaberg finished her sophomore season with 16 kills and five blocks, and senior Hong added 10 kills and two blocks.

Chandler said she was pleased with El Camino Real’s season despite the loss in the final.

“This is more than I expected,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, I said it was a rebuilding season.”