Wolverines Turn Out Lights on Notre Dame

STUDIO CITY — Harvard-Westlake High took on Notre Dame, a gymnasium blackout and the ghost of semifinals past, and emerged with a smile.

The Wolverines defeated, Notre Dame, 15-12, 15-6, 15-4, in the Southern Section Division III-A semifinal Tuesday night at Harvard-Westlake.

Despite a 15-minute delay in the second game because a Harvard-Westlake official accidentally turned off the gym lights, which needed ample time to warm up again, the Wolverines advanced to the Division III-A championship at Cypress College.

They will play Notre Dame Academy on either Friday or Saturday.

In the meantime, consider one inglorious part of Harvard-Westlake history erased.

The Wolverines failed to advance to a sectional championship game last season for the first time in three years, blowing a 10-5 lead in the fifth game and losing to Ocean View in a semifinal match.

“It was brutal,” senior Anne Jakle said.

The semifinal opponent was different this year, as was the ending.

“We pushed hard from the beginning and we pushed hard to the end,” said Jakle, who had 12 kills.

The Wolverines also clinched a berth in the state tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Harvard-Westlake (18-5) swept Notre Dame twice during the regular season en route to winning its seventh consecutive Mission League title. The second sweep came less than two weeks ago in the regular-season finale.

Notre Dame (14-6) had never been to a volleyball semifinal in school history and, at times, stayed close to the Wolverines, coming back from deficits of 8-1 and 13-7 in the first game.

But Harvard-Westlake passed with perfection and hit with authority. Not even the blackout would stall the Wolverines.

“I was hoping some magical, mystical thing would happen from that,” Notre Dame Coach Neil Coffman said.

Instead, the Wolverines, who were leading at the time, 13-6, went on to score 17 of the next 21 points to close out the match.

Setter Ashley Julian of Harvard-Westlake, playing her third match since breaking her right wrist, had 23 assists. Julian split time with Leslie Meller, who had 14.

Setter Nevada Blonstein of Notre Dame had 25 assists and 11 digs.