Marina girls’ volleyball has CIF run end in quarterfinals at Cypress

CYPRESS —  Marina girls’ volleyball coach Ryan Parker took his time following a season-ending defeat on Wednesday night, making sure no stone was left unturned as he attempted to put a bow on the campaign.

From the coaches down to the players, the group emerged from the huddle feeling proud of what it had accomplished, leaving little to chance regarding an opportunity to make a run this fall.

Marina fell to host Cypress 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-14 in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs, a round further than it advanced in the same division the year before with a roster still growing in experience.

“We start three freshmen and three sophomores,” said Parker, who was an assistant to Jake Nuneviller when the Vikings advanced to the Division 5 final as an at-large qualifier in 2022. “A big focus for us has been building culture and using that one big run that we had my second year with the program and turning it into more, year over year, discipline and culture, about going out and getting better in the offseason, coming back and trying to get rid of the stigma of Marina loses to [the] Sunset [League].

“These girls, they walk in completely confident and unafraid. That’s been the biggest thing is they go out and they plan on coming back to win at Marina.”

Sophomore outside hitter Korynn Mayo had 16 kills and five service aces to lead Marina (18-14), which earned an automatic berth as the fourth-place team in the seven-team Sunset League.

Junior opposite Addison Brown had nine kills and two block assists, and sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Enriquez provided nine kills and two aces. Senior opposite Reese Potter added seven kills, and junior middle blocker Ximena Martinez totaled 3½ blocks.

Freshman Cienna Enriquez and junior Alyssa Enriquez combined to dish out 39 assists as a setting tandem. Freshman libero Rylee Hartwell also started and provided a critical bump set to Mayo on the left pin, the latter’s kill giving the extended third set to the Vikings.

“We were good this year, but I think we’ll be even better next year,” Brown said. “We’re just growing as a team. I feel like every day, we grow 1% better, so I feel like our team next year will definitely be at a higher level.”

Cypress (19-12), which shared the Freeway League crown with Yorba Linda, unleashed a barrage of powerful swings. Junior outside hitter Isabella Faro had 18 kills to lead the Centurions.

“They’re not allowed to tip,” Cypress coach Alex Griffiths said. “That was my rule. We’ve got to fail forward.”

Junior outside hitter Kendel Harris and senior opposite Shayla Cotright each had 10 kills. Senior middle blocker Marissa Krebs added nine kills and three block assists, and junior outside hitter Leona Alexis chipped in with eight kills and two block assists.

Junior setter Hannah Schoffstall orchestrated the Cypress attack, providing 46 assists to go with a team-leading four aces.

“Hannah’s great,” Griffiths said. “Hannah is an all-in player, so I thought she did a really good job of helping establish our offense all the way through, from the left side to the right side. She has a lot to carry on her shoulders, but she can handle it.”

Also in the CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball playoffs:

Laguna Beach 3, Apple Valley 0: Freshman outside hitter Jordyn Flynn had 15 kills to lead the host Breakers to a 25-15, 26-24, 25-17 win in a Division 7 quarterfinal match on Wednesday evening.

Laguna Beach (9-25) travels to take on Lancaster Paraclete (20-13) in the semifinals on Saturday.