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Sports

Gondoliers Season Ends Versus Familiar Foe

Venice High's girls volleyball team comes up short in the City Section semifinals, losing to Western League rival Palisades in four sets.

Despite beating Palisades High School twice earlier in the year, the Venice High Gondoliers lost to the Dolphins in four sets in the CIF City Section semifinals to end their year on Tuesday.

"Congrats to Palisades. They outplayed us the whole game. Our ball handling wasn't what it should have been, and they were able to dictate the pace throughout. They will represent the Western League well in the final," coach Allen Hunt said after the match.

Palisades came roaring out of the gates, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead. They were able to extend that lead to 17-5. Venice rallied briefly, but Palisades was able to win the first set comfortably, 25-16.

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The second set was much tighter, with both teams exchanging runs throughout the set. However, Palisades was able to pull out some crucial points, winning the second set 25-20.

"They were able to step it up on a lot of points and simply put, they won the points they needed to win tonight. When they are healthy, they are a tough team to beat and we learned that tonight," Hunt commented.

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The Gondoliers showed signs of life in the third set, which began much like the second. Both teams alternated points until 9-9, when Venice went on a small run. They took a 17-14 lead and slowly extended it until they won the set, 25-16.

"The girls fought the whole way. That's all you can really ask for. They were able to keep it competitive and it was great to see them make it interesting in the end," Hunt said.

The fourth set was a microcosm of the entire match. Both teams were neck and neck to 11-11, until Palisades went on a run to make it 18-13. The Gondoliers did all they could to come back, closing the gap to two at 24-22, but that was as close as they would get. Palisades won the fourth set 25-22.

"I'm very proud of what we accomplished this year. Our progression from start to finish was fantastic. I'm very sad for the three seniors. It's tough to go out with a loss like this. We just weren't able to do what was needed to win tonight," Hunt said.

Katie Mercado ended her career with a game high 14 kills. Venice will also be losing co-captain Sarah Takagaki and star setter Avery Rice.  The Gondoliers will return starters Molly Lieske, Colleen McCabe, Jeanette Shekelle and Darrin Rice – a freshman who has a bright future ahead of her.

The Gondoliers end the year with a 22-10 record. Next year they will look to improve on their 27-game regular season Western League winning streak. Palisades moves on to the finals on Saturday, where they will take on Poly-Sun Valley.  

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