Latest news with #CityOpenDivision
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Venice sweeps its way past Taft for girls' beach volleyball title
Venice's Savannah Rozell digs a ball against Taft in the finals of the City Section girls' beach volleyball team championships Friday in Santa Monica. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) Having finished atop a field of 73 duos to win the City Section pairs title three days earlier, Samantha Lortie and Savannah Rozell were seeking an even bigger prize Friday afternoon in Santa Monica. The Gondoliers' No. 1 tandem swept its four matches to punctuate a perfect season and lead Venice to its first girls' beach volleyball team championship, one that was capped by a 3-0 shutout of Taft in the finals. Advertisement Lortie and Rozell are also outside hitters on Venice's indoor squad, which fell in a five-set thriller to Taft in the City Open Division title match last fall, though both acknowledge they like the beach game more. 'We had a drive to win pairs since we were runner-up last year, but winning this is equal because we love our teammates and we get to share this one with them,' said Rozell, a senior who started playing recreationally on the beach in 10th grade and did not take up indoor volleyball until her junior year. 'We only lost twice all last year, once in league to Palisades and in the pairs finals [to El Camino Real sisters Audrey and Addison Choi],' added Lortie, a junior who has played indoor since she was 10 and beach since she was 13. Lortie and Rozell beat another El Camino Real duo, Aja Najar and Mackenzie Hazelton, by a score of 28-20 in the pairs final Tuesday after escaping Taft's Eva Velarde and Laila Braimah, 28-24, in the semifinal round. On Friday, they found themselves facing Velarde and Braimah again with the team crown on the line and prevailed, 21-18, 21-10. Lortie and Rozell did not drop a set all season. Savannah Rozell (left) and Samantha Lortie won the City Section pairs tournament and three days later led Venice to its first girls' beach volleyball team title. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times) 'This is only our second year having a school beach team,' Lortie said. 'We'd thought about playing together and when we tried out our coach [Charlie Styrbicki] agreed we'd be a good fit.' Advertisement Lortie clinched her team's championship with a spike on match point moments after Venice's No. 2 tandem of Catherine Campbell and Adelaide Groff completed their 21-10, 21-18 victory over Taft's Francine Baltazar-Shine and Ionna Relorcasa one court over. Venice's Kailyn Appling and Natalie Boothby beat Taft's Jasmine Orellana and Nikita Luniv, 21-15, 21-14, at the No. 3 position. 'For the first set we were adjusting to the wind,' Rozell said. 'I kept getting aced on one side and depending on which end we served from we had to either put more on the ball or take a little off it.' 'By the second set we'd figured out what to do,' Lortie added. Venice and Taft had split two regular-season meetings, both by 2-1 scores, so the Gondoliers' No. 1 pair felt the pressure to set the tone for their team with the City title at stake. Advertisement 'Savannah has insane hustle and her ball placement is incredible,' Lortie said of her partner. 'Whenever I think the ball's going down, she somehow always gets it.' 'Samantha's consistent, she's always positive and she has a great swing,' Rozell reciprocated. 'We complement each other well, we have good communication and we get along off the court too.' Venice, seeded first in the 16-team bracket, eliminated No. 16 Simon Tech, No. 8 Grant and No. 5 Birmingham on its way to the final while the third-seeded Toreadors beat No. 14 Westchester, No. 6 El Camino Real and No. 2 Chatsworth. Braimah's block on championship point lifted Taft to the title over Venice in November and she and Velarde keyed Taft's 2-1 semifinal upset on the sand Friday by besting the Chancellors' top tandem of Samantha Sikorski and Laila Velu, 21-10, 21-14. Chatsworth had beaten Taft twice during the season. Advertisement 'Third time's the charm,' Toreadors coach Rene Lopez said. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Venice sweeps its way past Taft for girls' beach volleyball title
Having finished atop a field of 73 duos to win the City Section pairs title three days earlier, Samantha Lortie and Savannah Rozell were seeking an even bigger prize Friday afternoon in Santa Monica. The Gondoliers' No. 1 tandem swept its four matches to punctuate a perfect season and lead Venice to its first girls' beach volleyball team championship, one that was capped by a 3-0 shutout of Taft in the finals. Lortie and Rozell are also outside hitters on Venice's indoor squad, which fell in a five-set thriller to Taft in the City Open Division title match last fall, though both admit they like the beach game more. 'We had a drive to win pairs since we were runner-up last year, but winning this is equal because we love our teammates and we get to share this one with them,' said Rozell, a senior who started playing recreationally on the beach in 10th grade and did not take up indoor volleyball until her junior year. 'We only lost twice all last year, once in league to Palisades and in the pairs finals [to El Camino Real sisters Audrey and Addison Choi],' added Lortie, a junior who has played indoor since she was 10 and beach since she was 13. Lortie and Rozell beat another El Camino Real duo, Aja Najar and Mackenzie Hazelton, by a score of 28-20 in the pairs final Tuesday after escaping Taft's Eva Velarde and Laila Braimah, 28-24, in the semifinal round. On Friday, they found themselves facing Velarde and Braimah again with the team crown on the line and prevailed, 21-18, 21-10. Lortie and Rozell did not drop a set all season. 'This is only our second year having a school beach team,' Lortie said. 'We'd thought about playing together and when we tried out our coach [Charlie Styrbicki] agreed we'd be a good fit.' Lortie clinched her team's championship with a spike on match point moments after Venice's No. 2 tandem of Catherine Campbell and Adelaide Groff completed their 21-10, 21-18 victory over Taft's Francine Baltazar-Shine and Ionna Relorcasa one court over. Venice's Kailyn Appling and Natalie Boothby beat Taft's Jasmine Orellana and Nikita Luniv, 21-15, 21-14, at the No. 3 position. 'For the first set we were adjusting to the wind,' Rozell said. 'I kept getting aced on one side and depending on which end we served from we had to either put more on the ball or take a little off it.' 'By the second set we'd figured out what to do,' Lortie added. Venice and Taft had split two regular-season meetings, both by 2-1 scores, so the Gondoliers' No. 1 pair felt the pressure to set the tone for their team with the City title at stake. 'Savannah has insane hustle and her ball placement is incredible,' Lortie said of her partner. 'Whenever I think the ball's going down, she somehow always gets it.' 'Samantha's consistent, she's always positive and she has a great swing,' Rozell reciprocated. 'We complement each other well, we have good communication and we get along off the court too.' Venice, seeded first in the 16-team bracket, eliminated No. 16 Simon Tech, No. 8 Grant and No. 5 Birmingham on its way to the final while the third-seeded Toreadors beat No. 14 Westchester, No. 6 El Camino Real and No. 2 Chatsworth. Braimah's block on championship point lifted Taft to the title over Venice in November and she and Velarde keyed Taft's 2-1 semifinal upset on the sand Friday by besting the Chancellors' top tandem of Samantha Sikorski and Laila Velu, 21-10, 21-14. Chatsworth had beaten Taft twice during the season. 'Third time's the charm,' Toreadors coach Rene Lopez said.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Prep talk: Venice baseball is 21-1 and rising in City Section
With a 12-2 win over Loyola on Saturday, Venice's baseball team improved to 21-1 and is positioning itself for a high seeding in the City Section Open Division playoffs. While the winner of the West Valley League, either Birmingham or El Camino Real, is the likely No. 1 seed, Venice has a good argument to be right behind. The Gondoliers are 14-0 in the Western League and own wins over Valley Mission League leader Sun Valley Poly and have a win over El Segundo, which is 17-6-1. Advertisement Coach Kevin Brockway has a senior-dominated team that includes Noel Moreno, who is 8-1 with an 0.58 ERA. Sophomore Jace Lindblom is 5-0 and senior Canon King is 6-0. Having three quality pitchers is a must to win a City Open Division title. King leads the team in hitting with 30 hits. Venice has six games left on its regular-season schedule, with matchups against San Fernando and San Pedro set to be the toughest. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Venice baseball is 21-1 and rising in City Section
With a 12-2 win over Loyola on Saturday, Venice's baseball team improved to 21-1 and is positioning itself for a high seeding in the City Section Open Division playoffs. While the winner of the West Valley League, either Birmingham or El Camino Real, is the likely No. 1 seed, Venice has a good argument to be right behind. The Gondoliers are 14-0 in the Western League and own wins over Valley Mission League leader Sun Valley Poly and have a win over El Segundo, which is 17-6-1. Coach Kevin Brockway has a senior-dominated team that includes Noel Moreno, who is 8-1 with an 0.58 ERA. Sophomore Jace Lindblom is 5-0 and senior Canon King is 6-0. Having three quality pitchers is a must to win a City Open Division title. King leads the team in hitting with 30 hits. Venice has six games left on its regular-season schedule, with matchups against San Fernando and San Pedro set to be the toughest. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Los Angeles Times
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
The Times' top 25 boys' basketball final rankings for 2024-25
A look at The Times' final top 25 boys' basketball rankings: Rk, School (Rec.); Comment; ranking end of regular season 1. EASTVALE ROOSEVELT (35-2); Southern Section and state Open Division champion; 2 2. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (28-6); SS Open Division runner-up; Open Division regional runner-up; 5 3. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (31-3); Open Division regional semifinalist; 1 4. ST. JOHN BOSCO (26-7); Open Division regional quarterfinalist; 3 5. SIERRA CANYON (27-7); Division I state champion; 6 6. REDONDO UNION (28-6); Division I regional finalist; 8 7. JSERRA (24-11); Division I regional semifinalist; 9 8. SANTA MARGARITA (23-9); Division I regional first round; 4 9. LA MIRADA (25-7); SS Open Division pool; 7 10. HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (25-7); SS Open Division pool; 10 11. LOS ALAMITOS (26-9); SS Division 1 champion, Division I regional semifinalist; 20 12. MIRA COSTA (31-5); SS Division 1 runner-up, Division 1 regional semifinalist; 11 13. ROLLING HILLS PREP (22-7); SS Division 1 quarterfinalist; 16 14 . SANTA BARBARA (22-7); SS Division 1 semifinalist, Division 1 regional first round; NR 15. CRESPI (21-9); SS Division 1 first round; 12 16. MATER DEI (22-9); SS Division 1 quarterfinalist; 13 17. BRENTWOOD (25-5); SS Division 1 second round; 19 18. WINDWARD (22-8); SS Division 1 quarterfinalist; 21 19. CREAN LUTHERAN (18-13); SS Division 1 semifinalist, Division 1 regional first round; 24 20. INGLEWOOD (27-5); SS Division 1 second round; 15 21. LONG BEACH POLY (23-7); SS Division 1 second round; 14 22. ST. ANTHONY (18-7); SS Division 1 first round; 17 23. CAMPBELL HALL (19-10); SS Division 1 quarterfinalist; NR 24. CHATSWORTH (26-9); City Open Division runner-up; State Division II runner-up; NR 25. RANCHO CUCAMONGA (23-8); SS Division 1 first round; 18
