Starting out with a No. 9 ranking in the CIF-Southern Section Division III-AA, Culver City High School’s girls volleyball team stumbled a bit before routing Morningside, 3-0 (25-4, 25-3, 25-7), last week in the Ocean League opener.
At St. Bernard, the Vikings slipped past Culver, 26-28, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21 and 16-14.
Jane Clarke and Ashanti Stewart sparked the Centaurs with five aces each. Torrey Mitsunaga had 32 aces and Mychelle Hale added 19 digs.
Stewart sparked Culver (2-3) with five ace serves and 24 assists. Hale had 13 digs in a prior loss to Serra. In the Burbank Tournament, Culver had a good showing with a 3-2 record, losing in the quarterfinals of the Gold Division.
Key returning starters are senior middle blocker Tiara Wallace and setter Torrey Mitsunaga. Also back for the Centaurs are senior outside hitter Raquel Spencer and junior middle blocker Spencer Williams.
“We have six seniors on our squad,” Culver City head coach Chris Fraijo said. “We have a couple of freshmen. We have a lot of work to do.”
The Centaurs hosted powerful Santa Monica last week and will visit the Inglewood Sentinels next Tuesday.