IRVINE — The Crean Lutheran girls volleyball team trailed by nine points late in the first set of its Freeway League match against Foothill on Monday at Crean Lutheran High School.
With the league title on the line, the Saints came back to win that set, setting the tone for an outcome that few would have expected.
Crean Lutheran went on to win the next two sets for a sweep of the Knights, 25-22, 25-19, 25-12, in the final match of the regular season.
Foothill defeated Crean Lutheran in a down-to-the wire, five-set match on Sept.25. The Saints (24-2, 7-1) and Knights (22-9, 6-2) had identical league records coming into Monday’s match.
“It really showed the character of this team of not giving up,” Crean Lutheran coach Anna Dyer said. “We came out with a lot of adrenaline and a lot of people in the stands. But then we settled in and played our game, which is serving really tough and winning those long rallies.”
The Saints served a total of 12 aces, with six by Jaylin Kim and three by Brooklyn Jones, who also had nine kills.
“After I missed that first serve, my mentality after that was pretty much to just get the ball in,” Kim said. “And then once I got the rhythm, that’s when I started putting more pressure on them. And that is when I knew I can start getting in my groove with the serving.”
Kills from June Stringham, Alana Jackson, Haley Langdon, Malory Grimes and Juli Malassani, combined with Saints’ hitting errors, helped the Knights build a 19-10 lead in the first set.
But from there, the Saints went on a 15-2 run for a comeback victory in the set.
Sasha Pugh (33) had eight kills and a block, Jaylin Kim (27) served six aces and Brooklyn Jones (41) had nine kills and three aces to lead the Crean Lutheran girls volleyball team to a sweep of Foothill, 25-22, 25-19, 25-12, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, that decided the Freeway League title. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)Sasha Pugh led the comeback with three consecutive points on a right-side kill, a kill to the back row and a middle kill.
Pugh then scored on back-to-back kills later in the set, scored on a block and scored on a kill for the final point of the set.
“I think coming into the first set, we were playing a little slow,” Pugh said. “We didn’t have any energy, and since the student section was so big, we were all playing really nervous. So, I feel like once our serving got back into check and we got a couple points, we just kept our momentum.”
The second set was close until Kim keyed a 6-0 run with three aces, giving the Saints a 13-8 lead.
Jones scored on a pair of kills to put Crean Lutheran ahead 20-16, and then the Saints scored the final three points to win the set.
The Saints jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the third set and then scored five of their final nine points off Foothill hitting errors.
“For me, there was a lot of pressure and I was a little stressed out,” Jones said. “But as we played, my teammates kind of comforted me and that was so helpful. And I think through that comfort and the connection we built, that pushed us forward and I think it was just a great team win.”
The CIF-SS girls volleyball playoff brackets will be released Saturday.
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