More than anything, the Cougars needed the victory to improve to 2-2 in league this season.
“I think we were even more motivated after the two losses,” Budge said. “We don’t stay down long, so we know that we have to focus on the highs.
“We know each other, so that helps. We don’t get frustrated.”
Budge and the Cougars proved that they could put the fourth game behind them. Glendale Adventist led throughout the final game, as it raced to a 9-4 lead on a kill by junior middle blocker Finster Paul. Junior opposite hitter Jordan Khoe collected two kills and two aces in the fifth game for the Cougars.
Glendale Adventist first-year Coach Hugo Gomez said the Cougars, who did not qualify for the playoffs last season after capturing the league championship in 2007, showed some poise to conquer the Titans (3-5, 1-3 in league).
“It all starts with consistency with the passing and serving,” said Gomez, who saw the Cougars register two aces in the last game and 15 overall in the two-hour match. “We were able to win our games because we had streaks that had good serving.
“We were able to get our serves in when we needed to and we got good passing as well. We’ve been working on playing through challenges, and I thought we were able to do that [Monday].”
The Cougars owned a 25-24 lead in the first game, but the Titans rallied for the next three points to take a 1-0 lead. Glendale Adventist closed out the second game on a kill by Budge.
The Cougars took a 19-10 lead in the third game on a kill by Budge before the Titans rallied to cut the deficit to 23-19. A block by Paul sealed the third game. Armenian General Benevolent never trailed in the fourth game despite holding off a late rally by Glendale Adventist before Avo Kazandjian clinched the win with a kill.
The teams will meet again at 4 p.m. April 30 at Armenian General Benevolent.
Glendale Adventist, which got eight kills from Jason Whitley, will next compete in a league home match against Orangewood Academy at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
