ROLLING HILLS ESTATES — Peninsula’s Drake Harris described the final point of Wednesday’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinal battle as one of the weirdest he has ever experienced.
“It was probably the weirdest feeling I ever had serving,” Harris said. ”My legs were tingling and the crowd was going crazy.”
Serving on match point, Harris watched as Santa Margarita rallied before the Eagles were unable to volley his final kill, sending Peninsula to a thrilling five-set victory, 19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 31-29, 18-16.
Peninsula (20-7) will host St. Margaret’s in the semifinals Saturday.
All signs pointed to Peninsula forcing a fifth game without much pushback from Santa Margarita (24-9) after taking a 24-21 lead following kills by Harris and Kyle Boger. The Eagles responded behind a block and a kill from Brooks Ignosci.
“That’s probably the most electric game I’ve ever been in,” Harris said. “We thought it was a lock, they came back and we were worried. That would have been the end of the season.”
Peninsula’s Kyle Boger recorded nine kills in the fourth set, including a tip kill to make it 25-25 and another to tie the game at 26-26. Harris’ sixth kill of the fourth game tied the game at 29-29, and after a Santa Margarita error, Carter Zee’s kill kept Peninsula’s season alive. Harris finished with 27 kills.
“Some rotations we couldn’t get out of and (setter) Robert (Michael) did a really good job of working with our middle, (Boger), and getting out of them,” Harris said. “At the end of that, we were filled with motivation to win the fifth.”
Peninsula trailed 13-8 in the fifth set following three consecutive points from Santa Margarita’s Fenton Regan, but up stepped Boger and Harris when the Panthers needed them. The duo recorded kills on consecutive points and after an Eagle error, Boger’s kill made it 13-12.
Boger finished with 21 kills.
Following a Santa Margarita point, Boger won a joust above the net before another Eagles error tied the game at 14-14.
“We were telling each other not to give up and we kept rallying,” Harris said. “Once we got to 12-14, I went back to serve and got some lucky points.”
Zee’s eight kill of the night gave Peninsula match-point before Harris’ kill found the open court, sending the Panther sideline and home crowd into a frenzy.
“I trust my players. We do our job in the gym prior to the game, all the things we did (Wednesday) we’ve practiced,” Peninsula coach Kevin Williams said. “At the end of the day, you need a couple things to go your way and they did.”
Peninsula committed nine errors in the opening game, unable to pull closer to Santa Margarita, who utilized its strength at the net.
“(Santa Margarita) is really well coached,” Boger said. “(They have) super disciplined blocks, tough to get past. They go for low seam and high hands, score some scrappy points and it makes it hard.”
After just three kills in the opening set, Harris began to put his mark on the match in the second set. The UC Santa Cruz-bound attacker recorded eight kills in the second set, helping the Panthers to a 25-232 win.
But the play of Harris in the deciding fifth game showed just how valuable he is to the Panthers. Trailing 14-13, a diving dig helped keep the ball alive before an Eagle error made it 14-14 and at 16-15, he came up with a dig before Boger’s kill made it 16-16.
“(Harris) was phenomenal. He was steady with passing and smart enough to adjust his serving according to what we were doing,” Williams said. “He’s one of those players I don’t put restraints on. I let him play volleyball and I trust him.”
