Photo: Steve Galluzzo
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Being swept on its home floor by its archrival seems to have lit a fire under the Palisades High girls volleyball team. Since that setback the Dolphins have raised their game to a higher level and it showed at the Falcons Classic in La Crescenta two weeks ago, as Carlos Gray’s squad battled its way into the Gold bracket and avenged its Western League loss to Venice with a decisive 25-20, 25-17 tournament victory.
Palisades would eventually lose 25-16, 25-23 in the quarterfinal round to eventual champion Saugus, but the Dolphins showed the fight their coach was hoping for as the season reaches the midway point. In its four league matches after the defeat to the Gondos, Palisades did not drop a set against Hamilton, University, Fairfax and Westchester, improving to 4-1 in league with a rematch at Venice looming next Wednesday.
Last Friday, the Dolphins took on Windward in an intersectional contest and tamed the visiting Wildcats, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17.
The race for the No. 1 seed in the eight-team City Section Open Division playoffs is heating up, with Venice and Palisades in the mix along with West Valley League frontrunners Taft and Granada Hills, defending champion El Camino Real, Cleveland (fourth place in the West Valley), East Valley League leader Grant, Marshall and Eagle Rock of the Northern League and San Pedro and Carson representing the Marine League.
Palisades has won a record 30 City titles but has not lifted the trophy since the 2020 season, which got delayed until the spring of 2021.
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