Culver City girls’ varsity volleyball team spiked its way into the Culver City high school and CIF record books when they won a thrilling five-set match against arch rival Santa Monica high school last Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk. It was the Centaurs second CIF championship in a row.
To put that in perspective, some athletes and coaches never win a championship at any age and to win two major crowns is incredible. “Winning the championship again gave us a sense of relief,” said Culver City head girls’ volleyball coach Tanner Siegal, after his team won three out of five sets. “We knew the expectations were high just like last year, but this year the expectations were even higher.”
Siegal wanted to win this championship for the city of Culver City, the school, the fans and the team and especially for the four seniors: Lena Johnson, Jessica Stewart, Octavia Collins and Destiny Padilla.
“We had one try to get it right this year and we wanted to send our four seniors out the right way. The identity of this team is a complete reflection of the seniors,” Siegal said.
Now the 30-1 Centaurs are off to the State Tournament, which started last Wednesday when they traveled to the Central California area to face 28-12 Exeter High School. The State Tournament is another 32-team bracket. “We have to win five more games to win State,” said Siegal. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge because we will be playing a lot of sectional champions.”
To find out when their next game will be played contact Culver City high school.
If they play like they did against Santa Monica last Saturday the Centaurs have a good chance of going deep into the tournament and possibly winning another championship.
Against Santa Monica both schools filled the Cerritos gym with loud and enthusiastic fans. “It was very intense,” Siegal said. “We knew it was going to be a competitive match because both teams know each other very well.
“You have to give Santa Monica a lot of credit. They have an incredible program with great coaches. They gave us all we could handle,” he added
The coach said he was proud of being one of only three public schools that made it to the CIF finals. “Our girls work very hard throughout the year and today they left their hearts out on that court.”
Siegal wants to ensure that his assistant coach Eriko Gambol gets the credit he deserves.
“He has been with me for eight years and together we implement news things every year,” Siegal said.
Siegal loves the support from the community. “Culver City has a lot of class and this championship was for everyone in Culver City.”
The 10-1 football team will play their second CIF playoff game on the road against Coachella Valley, Friday at 7:30 p.m.