Southwest volleyball advances to CIF-SDS Div. IV semis.

EL CENTRO — Southwest High volleyball team easily made school history after sweeping Hilltop, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-15, in the CIF-San Diego Section Div. IV quarterfinals here on Thursday night.

The Eagles had never hosted a quarterfinal match in the playoffs and were able to do so after earning the No. 3 seed in the Div. IV tourney.

Hilltop came in as the No. 6 seed after sweeping No. 11 Escondido Charter on Tuesday, while Southwest knocked out No. 14 Oceanside to advance to the second round of playoffs.

While the Eagles’ firstround playoff game began a bit close that was not the case Thursday as Southwest jumped on the visiting Lancers going up 10-5, with help from Mady Jungers.

Jungers’ serving helped the Eagles create a lead that forced Hilltop to call an early timeout, giving Southwest a lot of confidence early in the game.

Jungers was all over the court for Southwest in the win as she finished with eight service points, eight kills and five assists.

Also standing out for the Eagles in the opening game was another sophomore in Andrea Aguilar, who paced the Eagles in kills, tallying nine against the Lancers.

“It’s great to see Andrea do well, because as a sophomore, she is one of our younger players,” said Eagle head coach Lisa Hinshaw.

“She has grown and progressed so much from where she was last season. She did have a few moments of weakness on defense, but when she’s at the net, she goes after every ball.”

While Hilltop would rally in the closing moments of the opening game, the Eagles’ Karyme Palacio was able to seal the firstgame win with solid serving, finishing with nine service points and 10 digs.

As the first game finished just out of the Lancers’ reach, the visiting team came out strong in the second set, jumping to an early lead over the Eagles.

The game was tied 1111 when an Eagle player went down with an ankle injury that could have shifted the momentum back to the Lancers, had it not been for Karissa Magaña’s service efforts that eventually gave Southwest a 14-11 advantage.

“When Yolanda (Aguilar) got hurt, I think it made the girls realize that they all needed to step up because (Yolanda) is a strong presence at the net,” Hinshaw said. “They had to shift a little and cover each other more, but I think they adjusted well on defense and offense.”

After Magaña was able to create some separation from the Lancers, the Eagles never looked back and finished with plenty of momentum that spilled into the third set.

With the semifinal game in sight, the Eagles cleanly disposed of the Lancers in the third game with help from Sadriena Rodriguez’s 18 digs and 11 service points, and Erika Arellano’s 11 assists and three service points.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Hinshaw after the game in response to the thought of her team playing in the semifinals next week.

“The girls are making history, so as their coach, it is a point of pride and just a real honor to see them do so well.”

While the Eagles have not learned their semifinal opponent, it will come down to the victor of the matchup between No. 2 Chula Vista Learning Community Charter and No. 7 Mar Vista.

Southwest will likely face the second- seeded Cobras, who are 21-1 on the season and have only dropped three sets all year.

If Mar Vista is able to upset CVLCC, Southwest will host the semifinal match set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

If not, the Cobras will await the Eagles in San Diego on Tuesday night.