El Toro advances with 21-10 record after St. Anthony sweep

El Toro's girls volleyball team improved its season record to 21-10 on Wednesday. The Chargers defeated fourth-seeded St. Anthony of Long Beach in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals. The sweep came with final scores of 25-23, 25-17, and 25-22.

This marks the first time El Toro has reached the section semifinals since 2021. The team last won a championship that year. A return to the finals is the next goal. Only one opponent stands between the Chargers and that opportunity.

Liberty of Winchester defeated Canyon of Canyon Country in five games on Wednesday. Liberty had earlier beaten top-seeded Marlborough of Los Angeles in the second round. El Toro will travel to Liberty for the semifinal match on Saturday.

The path to this point has included both wins and losses in the playoff bracket. Coach Gus Culver noted that the team is using all that experience to build momentum. "Game 1 was critical," Culver said. "We didn’t get off to a great start, but got in a pretty good rhythm."

El Toro trailed St. Anthony by five points in the first game. The Saints held a 19-14 lead at one point. Elli Hirosumi served four consecutive points to close the gap. Sophie Nigro recorded a block and a kill to bring the score to 23-22. Jessa Jarrett served an ace for the final point.

The second game was more decisive for the Chargers. El Toro built a 7-5 lead into a 19-11 advantage. Lindsay Keith contributed four of the team's final five points in that set.

The third game mirrored the intensity of the second round. El Toro fell behind 11-6 and later 16-11. Senior Liz Njoroge sparked a comeback with a kill and a block to bring the Chargers within one point at 16-15. Down 18-15, Hirosumi began a five-point run with two kills.

The team tied the game at 20. Hirosumi's power made it 21-20. Ellie Tredwell's block took the lead to 22-21. Sarah McCormick added a point to make it 23-22. Keith finished the match with two kills.

St. Anthony's bid for a third section title ended with this loss. The Saints' record fell to 20-15-1. Brianna Mbire recorded 10 kills and Brooke Jondle added six for Long Beach. For El Toro, Nigro provided 40 assists. Keith had 15 kills and Hirosumi had 11.

Njoroge finished with four kills and a team-high six blocks. She credited the team's ability to fight through adversity. "It’s good that we face adversity because we get to see how we can fight out of that," Njoroge said. "It makes us stronger as a team."