FRESNO – With the stage set for the Division IV Central Section Championship game, Immanuel and Fresno Christian locked talons to determine the last team standing.
The No. 3 seed Immanuel Eagles inspirational season came to a disappointing end with a 3-0 (23-25, 24-26, 19-25) loss to the No.1 seed Fresno Christian Eagles in the 2024 Central Section Girls Volleyball Championship (Division IV) at the Fresno Christian Schools Gym on Nov. 7. With the loss, Immanuel ends its season at 20-21 overall.
Immannuel’s loss is a bittersweet end to a season filled with challenges and successes. One of their successes includes a 3-1 defeat of Fresno Christian back on Aug. 27.
Immanuel swooped through the playoffs with shutout victories against Liberty, Sanger West and Shafter. Fresno Christian took the exact same route with shutout victories against Hoover, Roosevelt and Mammoth. But Immanuel knew to prepare for the best from a Fresno Christian team that has been on this stage before.
“I think we prepared well, we knew what they had,” said Immanuel head coach Alyssa DenHartog. “We knew they had some phenomenal players and I felt like we were able to defend them well, but they had enough to overpower us.”
In the first set, both teams collected most of their points off some powerful serves. But later in the set, Immanuel took a 13-12 lead off a kill to the far corner of the court. Then, they scored three more points on hits and kills that Fresno Christian couldn’t defend.
It felt like Immanuel stole the momentum. But later, Fresno Christian went on a run that tied the set at 20-20. And then, a tip in front of the net allowed Fresno Christian to retake the lead for good.
In the second set, Immanuel still had the taste of victory in their beaks. They still believed they could pull this one out. Immanuel had a comfortable 14-6 lead in the middle of the set. Fresno Christian appeared frustrated as their dig attempts and deflections ricocheted off the floor and into the stands. But they regrouped later to take a 24-22 lead highlighted by Sarah Guglielmana’s serve.
“I didn’t feel like we lost energy, I didn’t feel like they carried momentum the whole time,” said DenHartog. “I felt like we came back and battled well in the second and third and didn’t quite have enough to finish.”
In the third set, Immanuel still felt like they could win. After exchanging points with Fresno Christian, they pushed out to a 17-12 lead. And then Fresno Christian tied it at 17-17 with a corner kill. A few minutes later, Jordyn Degroot’s emphatic spike enabled Fresno Christian to open up a 22-19 lead. After that, Immanuel’s valiant effort came to an end.
As an exhausted Immanuel team walked off the court, their championship effort didn’t go unnoticed. In a season filled with the unexpected, they left with an immense amount of pride.
“I guess it’s one of those losses where we did what we could, so it doesn’t hurt as bad as if we’d played poorly,” said DenHartog. “I am so proud of how our girls played. We came up short against a really good team.”
