CITY VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS : El Camino Real Upsets Carson in Pool Play

When the El Camino Real High girls’ volleyball team upset top-seeded Carson in a City 4-A Section pool game Saturday, speculation broke out in the gym bleachers at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“This means we have a chance at the title,” one El Camino Real fan said.

“Our girls can do it,” said another fan.

Yet, the Conquistadores’ victory over Carson, the defending City 4-A champion, was not even a full match. Just one pool play game.

And absent was Carson’s Lala Lesa, two-time City player of the year, who sustained a serious knee injury in an earlier game Saturday.

Still, when Kristin Kanter served three consecutive aces to break an 11-11 tie and Jennifer Dinaberg spiked the game-winning point, the Conquistadores ran off the court with arms raised.

“Without sounding merciless, I told our team to take advantage that Lesa was gone,” El Camino Real Coach Lori Chandler said.

The Conquistadores, who finished 5-1 in pool play, are seeded third behind Palisades and Chatsworth. They will play host to University in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Top-seeded Chatsworth, undefeated in pool play, will play host to Westchester. Chatsworth was never in jeopardy of losing any of its games and no opponent scored more than 10 points.

“Any time you go 6-0, you have to be playing well,” Chatsworth Coach Steve Berk said. “We kept our mistakes to a minimum and handled the pressure well.”

Taft, making its first playoff appearance in three years, dropped four of five games.