Notre Dame Academy

LOS ANGELES ? Anytime Julie Herrera moved on the parquet floor, good things happened for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team. To help the Tologs record a convincing road victory inside a tough building proved to be quite satisfying for the senior outside hitter. Herrera finished with 16 kills and teammate Sam Orlandini added 34 assists Monday night to propel Flintridge Sacred Heart to a 25-14, 25-11, 25-13 nonleague victory against Notre Dame Academy. It marked the second consecutive season that the Tologs (5-2)

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - It's expected the first couple of weeks of the season will be a time for the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team to make adjustments. After missing the playoffs last season, the Tologs decided to restructure the program. In stepped first-year coach Ernest Banaag, who led Mayfield to three straight CIF championships between 2008-10. For Banaag, the beginning of the season will be a time for tinkering with lineups and learning the strengths and weaknesses of the Tologs.

GLENDALE — The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Notre Dame Academy volleyball teams normally compete toward the beginning of the season in a nonleague match. That’s provided the players an opportunity to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their opposition. For the first time since 2004, the teams will meet in a playoff match. The fourth-seeded Tologs will host the Regals in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A quarterfinal match at 5:30 p.m. today. The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy-Notre Dame Academy winner will meet top-seeded Santa Barbara or Upland in a semifinal match Tuesday at a site to be determined.

After dealing with an all-to-familiar foe for two consecutive days, Shelli Orlandini could finally relax. The first-year Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball coach earned that right, despite the season only being about a week old. She liked what she saw. Flintridge Sacred Heart got 13 kills from Megan Connell and 11 kills and seven blocks from Rachel Salvo to record a 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17 nonleague victory...

Grant Gordon Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy's quest for the CIF Southern Section finals came one round and three games short on Tuesday. In the Division IVAA semifinals, the Tologs' girls' volleyball team ran into a roadblock known as Notre Dame Academy and the host Regals prevailed, 25-13, 25-23, 25-15, in dominant fashion. "They're the toughest team we've played this season," said Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Nancy Tinkham, whose team finished the year at 25-4, two of the Tologs' losses coming at the hands of the Regals in sweeps.

Winners announced in Cabrini Writing Awards The Cabrini Literary Guild held its annual Writing Awards Luncheon April 12 at the Oakmont Country Club in Glendale. Terry Campbell, guild president introduced Chairwoman Connie Alamdari, who presented the awards to writers in fiction and nonfiction. The first-place winner in fiction was Natasha Papalia, a resident of Ontario from Pomona Catholic High School, for her essay, "Free in the Sky." Jennifer Masunaga of Los Angeles and a student at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena won first place in nonfiction for her essay, "Madam Staircase."

Charles Rich Thanks to a limited amount of matches the past two weeks, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy girls' volleyball team had an opportunity to take a deep breath. The Tologs figured they would need it before taking on some of the top programs in the Mission League. Flintridge Sacred Heart looked in command during its 25-9, 25-10, 25-13 home league victory against Chaminade on Thursday night. The Tologs, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division IVAA, received 12 kills and 10 digs from senior outside hitter Kelly Smiland.

Charles Rich There's enough pressure when they enter their classrooms, situated atop a hill overlooking La Canada Flintridge and part of the spacious San Gabriel Valley. The view can be panoramic, but the conversations that take place between the two student-athletes and their teachers doesn't necessarily apply to homework assignments or test scores all of the time. There's plenty of supportive dialogue. The conversations between Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball players Kelly Smiland and Katie Kriste and their teachers and fellow students concern kills and digs, rather than a mathematic problem or a branch of the United States government.

BOYS' WATER POLO Laguna Beach 15, Glendale 7: Glendale received a team-best two goals from driver Edgar Shagoulian on Friday in a pool-play match of the Villa Park Tournament. Hayk Avagyan, Arthur Bagumyan, Hybert Minas-Masihi, Jamie Morrison and Sam Ghayouri each scored a goal for the Nitros (4-9). Glendale goalkeeper Sevak Ovsepyan finished with 16 saves. Flintridge Prep 13, Alhambra 5: The Rebels improved to 14-2 on the season with Thursday's nonleague road win. Jeff Naecker and Ben Naecker each had three goals for Flintridge Prep, ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division VI. Mike Detoy scored twice.

GLENDALE — This time, the coin flip landed in favor of the Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball team. Now, it will be up to the Tologs to take advantage of their good fortune and protect their home court if they plan to advance to the championship match for the first time since 2002. By winning the coin flip to determine home-court advantage, fourth-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart will meet top-seeded Santa Barbara in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A semifinal match at 7 p.m. today.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - It's expected the first couple of weeks of the season will be a time for the members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team to make adjustments. After missing the playoffs last season, the Tologs decided to restructure the program. In stepped first-year coach Ernest Banaag, who led Mayfield to three straight CIF championships between 2008-10. For Banaag, the beginning of the season will be a time for tinkering with lineups and learning the strengths and weaknesses of the Tologs.

LOS ANGELES — If there’s one thing Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy basketball Coach Gino Pacella could wish for, it would be a veteran center with a strong inside presence. Pacella might some day have his wish granted. In the meantime, he’ll spend the next few days thinking about what he witnessed Thursday night — an all-around complete game by Erin Teter of Notre Dame Academy that eventually put an end to the Tologs’ season. Teter finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lift host Notre Dame to a 63-48 victory against Sacred Heart in a CIF Southern Section Division IV-A first-round game.

GLENDALE — As Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball Coach Todd Frost sees it, the playoffs are a fresh start, a new season and, more than anything, they’re all about being hot at the right time. “Right now, everybody’s 0-0,” he said. “Now, if we come out and play one bad game, our season’s over.” The sixth-seeded Rebels drew a predicted first-round home game when playoff pairings were released on Sunday by the CIF offices, as they’ll host St. Matthias, the No. 3 team out of the Santa Cruz League, on Thursday at 7 p.m. Crescenta Valley was also a No. 6 seed with a home game, drawing familiar foe Valencia.

CYPRESS — Up until Saturday evening, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team’s run through the postseason had largely been one of few flaws. Whether it was a second-round sweep of El Modena, a gritty five-game victory over Notre Dame Academy in the quarterfinals, or a flat out dominant win over last year’s playoff nemesis Santa Barbara in the semifinals, the Tologs had been playing some of the their best volleyball of the season. When they met up with league rival Harvard-Westlake in the CIF Southern Section Division I-A Finals, Sacred Heart learned an untimely lesson — play one bad game and it might cost you a championship.

GLENDALE — This time, the coin flip landed in favor of the Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball team. Now, it will be up to the Tologs to take advantage of their good fortune and protect their home court if they plan to advance to the championship match for the first time since 2002. By winning the coin flip to determine home-court advantage, fourth-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart will meet top-seeded Santa Barbara in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A semifinal match at 7 p.m. today.

GLENDALE — The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Notre Dame Academy volleyball teams normally compete toward the beginning of the season in a nonleague match. That’s provided the players an opportunity to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their opposition. For the first time since 2004, the teams will meet in a playoff match. The fourth-seeded Tologs will host the Regals in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A quarterfinal match at 5:30 p.m. today. The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy-Notre Dame Academy winner will meet top-seeded Santa Barbara or Upland in a semifinal match Tuesday at a site to be determined.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Noticing the decorated history of the program, evidenced by four championship banners and numerous lengthy postseason appearances, Camille Coffey had heard all of the stories. Coffey chatted with the veteran members of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team about what it’s like to compete in the postseason. The freshman middle blocker finally experienced it Thursday night. Coffey contributed nine kills and senior setter Sam Orlandini added 15 digs and 30 assists to carry fourth-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy to a 25-21, 24-14, 25-18 home victory against El Modena in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A second-round contest.

GLENDALE ? Hopefully for Shelli Orlandini, losing a coin flip will be the last time she loses something this season. The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball coach went to the Los Alamitos-based CIF office Saturday to call a coin flip to see where the Tologs would play should they advance to the CIF Southern Section Division I-A semifinals. Orlandini lost the flip, but there's some consolation. Her second-seeded Tologs will meet host Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. today in a semifinal match.

It is rare that a student-athlete has an opportunity to spend their entire high school career growing and improving as an integral part of an elite varsity squad. By next year, Sam Orlandini, currently a junior in her third year as a varsity starter for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team, will bear that distinction. Orlandini, however, hasn't needed to wait for her senior year to make her mark on this storied program. The 2006 season has truly been a breakout year for the Sacred Heart setter, one in which she has come into her own as the catalyst and facilitator of the Tologs' potent attack.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — The sweep may belie the fact, but Saturday night's CIF Southern Section Division IA playoff match against Upland High was among the most intense challenges the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team has faced this season. The Tologs were pushed to their breaking point in the first two games by the Baseline League champion Scots, but refused to concede either game and emerged unscathed with a 25-23, 27-25, 25-16 victory and a ticket to the semifinal round on Tuesday.