Trinity Classical Academy girls volleyball continued its tradition of playoff excellence on Saturday afternoon, beating Calvary Murrieta 3-1 on the road in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 tournament.
The Knights dropped the first game 20-25, an outcome that coach Rebecca Peluffo chalks up to postseason nerves.
“We missed quite a few serves and just didn’t play very crisply at the beginning,” Peluffo said. “We just didn’t place the ball that well, but they definitely found a way to come out of it.”
Experienced leaders on the team like Hannah Caddow, who finished the evening with a team-high 23 kills to go along with 21 digs, helped Trinity out of the funk to win Game 2, 25-29.
“She goes out there and she loves to celebrate with her team and doesn’t to play as the passer and the setter,” Peluffo said, “but to praise them or celebrate them for setting her up to succeed.”
The Knights went on to win the third and fourth games with identical scores of 25-20 to finish the match.
Nicole Amoroso registered 44 assists and Heidi Schafer added 22 digs. Tamar Tchilingirian had five kills and three blocks.
Peluffo also credited Tori Fay for an additional boost of confidence needed to finish off the match strong.
“She stepped in in the second set, towards the end, and just really brought energy and hustle and definitely helped our team just to take control of the game,” said the coach.
Trinity will play the winner of the game between Rancho Christian and Bolsa Grande in the CIF-SS Division 8 quarterfinals.