Girls’ volleyball: Harvard-Westlake advances to 1A final [Video]

Down, 14-12, in the fifth set of the Southern Section Division 1A semifinals, Studio City Harvard-Westlake rallied to pull out a 20-18 victory over host Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Tuesday night to advance to the championship on Saturday at Santiago Canyon College.

The Wolverines endured some nervous moments but got strong play from Airelle Strom and Kayla Dillard to outlast their Mission League rivals before a boisterous crowd. Harvard-Westlake will play Pasadena La Salle in the final. La Salle knocked off Flintridge Sacred Heart in four sets.

Harvard-Westlake lost the first set, 25-16, won the next two, 25-11 and 25-22, before Notre Dame took the fourth set, 25-21. Notre Dame made a lot of hitting errors but refused to give in, spurred on by its home crowd. UCLA-bound Zana Muno was getting lots of attention from Harvard-Westlake fans who kept doing the UCLA eight clap to try to distract her. She struggled hitting but more than made up for it with her hustle and digs to keep her team alive.

Sophomore Savannah Slattery had a big match for the Knights. Jo Kremer had 27 kills for Harvard-Westlake.

In the City Section Division I, Granada Hills advanced to the Division I final with a three-set win over Sun Valley Poly. Sarah Hagge and Rachel Kayongo each had 11 kills. Granada Hills will play Palisades, a four-set win over Carson, in Saturday’s final at Roybal.

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