Losing in the semifinals of the CIF playoffs last November did not sit too well with Pacific Palisades resident Drew Hargrave. So she and her Brentwood School teammates were determined to get back there this season. They did that, then took it one step further, capturing the Southern Section Division III-AA championship Saturday night with a decisive 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Campbell Hall at Cypress College. It was the second trip to the finals in three years for Brentwood, which lost to Hacienda Heights Wilson in the 2006 Division III-A finals when Hargrave was a sophomore. After sweeping Lancaster and Valley View in the first two rounds Brentwood turned to its senior outside hitter in the quarterfinals at Palm Springs. The Eagles lost the first game but swept the next three as Hargrave led the way with 15 kills and 15 digs. Fellow Palisadian Sara Bowman was a force in the middle. Two other Pacific Palisades players, senior setter Devyn Tharnstrom and freshman opposite hitter Jocelyn Caster, also contributed throughout the Eagles’ playoff run. The semifinals pitted Brentwood against Granite Hills and the Eagles prevailed, 25-16, 14-25, 25-21, 25-22. Hargrave served four aces to propel Brentwood to a commanding 8-1 lead early in the third game, then smacked three kills in a row to put her team ahead, 20-19, in Game 4. Having split two Olympic League matches with Campbell Hall the Eagles were prepared for what they would face in the finals. Solid defense won the first two games before Hargrave once again took her game to a higher gear, serving three aces to help Brentwood close out the match, 25-19. She finished with 12 kills. Brentwood (28-4) earned the No. 2 seed in the Division III state tournament and hosted La Jolla of the San Diego Section on Tuesday. If victorious, the Eagles will either host Campbell Hall or Central Section champion Exeter in the Southern Regional semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m.
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