DOWNEY – The girls 2025 volleyball season came to an abrupt end for Calvary Chapel Downey with a marathon fifth-set loss to visiting Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) high school Tuesday night (October 21).

After making two comeback set wins to send the match to the final set, the Grizzlies fell, 3-2, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 first-round playoffs. The scores were 21-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17, 7-15

With the win, AGBU (16-10) advanced to the second round against Paramount.

Calvary Chapel ends its season at 14-10.

“It starts with the seniors, with the love that they have for the game is just evident in all of the things that they do with every play that they made,” Calvary Chapel fourth-year coach Elyssa Quintero said.

Grizzlies senior outside hitter Olivia Franke led the team with 12 kills, followed by senior setter Julianna Parra with 21 assists and senior libero Celeste Santana with 21 digs. Junior outside hitter Ameli Guerra added four aces. Parra and Santana had 269 assists and 239 digs, respectively, for the season.

For the season, four players were the kills leaders – Guerra, 97 kills, sophomore middle blocker Liela Kakuta, 92 and Franke, 90.

“(Olivia) is the offensive leader and you can tell when she’s feeling it, she’s feeling it,” said Quintero, of her four-year varsity player.

“Julie (Parra) just runs the court so well,” Quintero added. “She knows what to do and who to give it to and how to motivate the girls. My libero Celeste (Santana) is amazing and is the rock of my defense. I get compliments on her from other teams on how amazing she is.

“Those three I think are good pieces and everybody else fills in. This is the second year I have been senior heavy.”

The Grizzlies graduate eight seniors for the second year in a row.

The Calvary fans, as usual, were boisterous and supportive for the team and Quintero was very appreciative.

“It’s so helpful, because the (fans) have so much energy and we feed off of their energy,” said Quintero, who is also an assistant to the boys head coach Jeremiah Mitte (The team) went out fighting.”

In the first set, the Grizzlies jumped out to a 9-3 lead highlighted by five kills, including back-to-back kills by Franke and Kakuta.

After three consecutive points by the Titans to trail 9-6, Calvary scored seven straight points to take a commanding, 16-6 lead.

Highlighting that 7-0 run was server Daisy Lanuza with two aces and a block for a kill by Kakuta.

With the Grizzlies building up a 9-point lead, 20-11, AGBU went on its own 7-point run to close within two, 20-18. They closed out the opening set by winning the final seven points for the 1-0 set lead.

In the second set, the first come-from-behind set win came after they trailed, 7-2, and tied it with their own 7-2 run to tie it, 9-9. From there, it was all Calvary as they went on an 11-0 run with Lanuza serving, to build up a 20-9 lead. Highlighting that run was three more kills by Kakuta and a kill by Franke.

The Grizzlies then took a commanding, 24-10, lead, but gave up four consecutive points to still hold a big lead, 24-14, before a Titans serve that went way out of the back court for the win to even the match, 1-1.

“Because this was our last game, I just love playing with all these girls so much,” said an emotional Franke. “We were able to do so much together and I’m really proud of each and every one who used all their strengths to the best of their ability.

“They were able to rely on the Lord and were able to work together as a team to make it this far.

Franke was part of the team that advanced to the quarterfinals last season.

On the senior-heavy roster, Franke said, “There’s a couple of girls that have been here all four years. We all have worked so hard over the years, and we’ve put everything into it.”

In the third set, it went back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than four points. After a 12-12 tie, the Grizzlies built up a 6-point, 20-14 lead on another three kills by Kakuta and a service ace by senior middle Kaitlyn Haines.

AGBU jumped right back into the match with its own run of seven points to lead, 21-20.

After a long rally and two kills by Franke to take a one-point, 23-22 lead, the Titans…. called a time out.

Two consecutive AGBU kills and a Calvary mishit ended the set and the Grizzlies again trailed, two sets to one.

The fourth set was an even battle the whole way.

Guerra had four big kills along with two by Kakuta, and one by Franke to help build a 20-17 lead.

The big combo block by Parra and Kakuta was all the Grizzlies needed to get the crowd going and four consecutive points to win and again even the match at two sets each.

Lanuza served the last four points, two of which were service aces, with the second ace winning the set.

“There’s been countless games like this for us and the thing we kept from last year that we never gave up,” said Parra, who is a three-year varsity player. “We were able to all come together and shake off the last point and come together and get the next one.

“It (all the seniors) plays a big part in the dynamic of it, but I think we push the underclassmen to come up really have that discipline and fight to keep on going.”

The final set saw the Titans jump out to a 6-3 lead and Calvary never led the rest of the way.

Parra said of her coaches - “I think that their confidence in us and their ability to pick us up when we feel like we can’t go anymore and always knowing what to say and pushing us played a big role in our play.”

Fifth-set marathon CIF playoff loss ends Calvary Chapel’s girls volleyball season