2022 Tae Kim Lakewood/Molten Classic Tournament Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tae Kim Lakewood/Molten Classic concluded on August 20th with three teams taking top honors in three divisions. Who was crowned the champion?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tae Kim Lakewood/Molten Classic crowned three teams champions in three divisions. After the first weekend, Huntington Beach, Cypress, Torrance and Lakewood were all at the top of their pools in Division I with a 2-0 record. In Division II, Wilson, Millikan, Schurr, and Glendora were all 2-0. Lastly in Division III, Mayfair, Monrovia, La Salle, and Downey were tops in their pool also finishing 2-0. Saturday was filled with competitive volleyball as teams faced off in playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division III, Mayfair battled La Salle while Downey battled Monrovia in the semi finals. Downey outlasted Monrovia in five sets and La Salle took down Mayfair. Monrovia then rebounded and was able to defeat Mayfair to finish 3rd. Mayfair relies heavily on the arm of sophomore Addison Riddle on the pin to score points. Downey looked strong all tournament and defeated La Salle to take the championship in Division III.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division II, Glendora took Wilson to task while Milikan overpowered Schurr high in the semifinals. Millikan would battle it out with Glendora to take the championship. Millikan has a lot of seniors on the floor that they can look to for leadership with setter Alessia Filocamo, middle blocker Aaliyah Fasavalu, and outside hitter Peyton Kirk. Junior outside hitter Elle Lundahl is also solid for the rams.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division I, Huntington Beach defeated a spirited Torrance while Lakewood overpowered Cypress to win their semi final matches. Sophomore middle blocker Kalyssa Blackshear and sophomore outside hitter Kiana Greer were superb for Torrance. Greer is a high flier and solid six-rotation pin who was the CIF Southern Section Division 5 Player of the year and co-MVP of the Pioneer league last season as a freshman. Blackshear, another young player for Torrance, is getting a lot of attention with her 6'4” frame and is one to watch as the season progresses. Senior outside hitter&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='162759' first='Zoey' last='Henson'] tried to use everything in her toolbox to score points for Cypress. Henson is headed to the University of Washington to play beach. Huntington Beach started the final match down two sets before making an epic comeback to win in five sets. A gritty group, they were led by 6' junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='161767' first='Haylee' last='LaFontaine'], who is committed to Cal Poly SLO for beach. A team with great chemistry, Huntington was able to dig deep to outlast Lakewood. Lakewood also has some superb firepower in the middle from Zaria Thornton and on the pin from senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='161764' first='Samarah' last='DaCoud'] who is committed to the University of New Mexico. Both teams have setters that can dish it out to their attackers in Dani Sparks for Huntington (committed to Cal Poly SLO for beach) and Fatimah Hall for Lakewood (committed to San Diego State).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->