Sobrato’s playoff run came to an abrupt end Wednesday, falling 3-1 to Presentation.
The Bulldogs only once were able to put the hammer down on the Panthers in a 15-25, 25-22, 14-25, 13-25 loss.
Presentation advances to the Saturday quarter finals to face Westmont, who defeated Aragon in straight sets.
Sobrato, meanwhile, finishes the season at 11-5 after taking second in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into it,” said coach Nicole Simoneau. “But we were ready to fight for it. They were very pumped the first and second game(s). I think that after taking the second game, we settled down a little bit and we didn’t fight as hard as we should have.”
The Bulldogs after falling 25-15 in the first game, Sobrato came out firing in the second set, starting things off with a 10-3 scoring run.
Samantha Nydam had four of her 13 kills in the stretch.
The Bulldogs continued to be in control, taking a 17-12 lead a short time later as Presentation fell victim to hitting errors and fouls.
But those were corrected as Sobrato had five errors and fouls and Presentation found its rhythm to pull even with the Bulldogs 20-20.
But Nydam and Jordan Westall had kills to bring the Bulldogs to a 25-22 win.
The momentum of the win was not long lasted.
Casey Hendricks had an ace to give Sobrato a 2-0 lead early, but that was as good as Sobrato would do.
Presentation went on a 13-0 scoring run for a 14-3 lead behind the hitting of Andi Turnland and Dayln Burns.
From there, the Panthers cruised to a 25-11 win.
Game 4 went much the same way, as Presentation survived an early Sobrato push, putting the game away with a 14-5 scoring run.
The blocking line was the biggest difference in the game, Simoneau said. Presentation’s line kept Sobrato at bay while the Bulldogs’ line wasn’t able to keep the hitters down.
“They had some great blocks but they were very late and let their hitters hit at an open net,” Simoneau said. “With hitters like that, that’s not going to be good for us. And that’s going to be tough on our back row if their hitters hit at an open net.”
The loss marks the end for Sobrato’s three seniors: Miranda Wertz, Nydam and Hendricks.
“They came out with so much energy and so much heart,” Simoneau said. “They were so ready to play this game. They knew what ever happened they were we just going to fight. They even gave the team a little prep talk before the game.
“I’m going to miss them next year.”
