Willow Glen Resident

Sports

O'Hara's return not enough for Presentation

By Greg Lydon

Bridget O'Hara was back. For the first time in two months, the superstar outside hitter for the Presentation girls volleyball team trotted out onto the court in game action for the Panthers.

"You can tell what kind of player she is and how well loved she is just by the reaction she got coming into the match," Presentation coach Ryan Cooling said. "I wish I had her arm tonight also, but seeing her out there was a great moment."

O'Hara injured her shoulder during the opening week of the season, forcing her to be shut down for the rest of the season to prevent any further injury. O'Hara signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball for Santa Clara University this week, as she'll be 100 percent to head into the 2008 season for the Broncos.

O'Hara was stationed in the back row in her return, but the appearance wasn't enough for the Panthers as their season ended in the Division II semifinals with a 3-1 defeat against a balanced attack from St. Francis.

"I think if we had Bridget at 100 percent, we'd be playing Mitty to five games in the finals," Cooling said. "No one expected us to go this far without our best player, but our girls fought the underdog label all season long. I'm very proud of this team."

Outside hitter Brittany Clark led the charge for Presentation with 11 kills on the night; Ashley Roe and Sarah Schatzman chipped in seven kills in the losing effort for the Panthers.

Schatzman will be attending the University of San Diego next fall on a volleyball scholarship.

The No. 2 seeded Panthers came out of the gate strong, getting an early 7-5 lead in game one. Clark slammed home a big kill past a sliding St. Francis libero giving Presentation the early lead.

The seesaw first game went to the feisty No. 3 seeded Lancers, who had defeated Presentation three times in three previous meetings this season.

Clark came up with a big block, but St. Francis took the early momentum late in game one, winning 25-22.

Presentation shook off the close opening game and blitzed the Lancers in a quick game 2. Presentation jumped out to a 10-5 lead behind crisp passing and back-to-back kills from Roe.

A timeout for St. Francis didn't slow down the momentum for the Panthers as Roe followed with another kill and an ace to pull Presentation to its biggest lead of the game at 22-14. Kelly Sisney swatted a Lancers kill try for the big block to seal the 25-14 Presentation win in game 2.

"Our group didn't quit; we really embodied that all season, and we really showed that bouncing back in game 2," Cooling said. "We played a great St. Francis team tonight. They just had more firepower than us in the last couple of games."

The Lancers stormed back from the game 2 defeat and took the next two games 25-18, 25-15 to advance to the Division II final, going four-for-four against the Panthers in '07. Thirteen service errors hurt Presentation during a rough final two games.

The Presentation '07 team consisted of Megan Brogan, Brigid Lenihan, Schatzman, Allyson Flournoy, Jennifer Lemma, Melissa Forrette, Clark, Courtney Vaccarello, Katie Matasci, Roe, Gianna Fernandez, Amanda Nojadera, Lauren Bajtos, Sisney, Katie Hewitt and O'Hara.