Hemet High wins another championship. Photo by Mary Viereck.
Hemet High’s girls volleyball win of a third staight CIF title Saturday, Nov. 17, might seem routine.
It wasn’t. Winning just one CIF title is a very, very big deal. It’s what athletic kids dream about from the time they are in first grade. It is a goal few reach.
Saturday morning, under the direction of first-year coach Janie Washburn and able assistance from Mark Self, the Lady Bulldogs beat top-seeded Saddleback Valley Christian in a match at Cerritos College that went the full distance of five exciting sets, 25-20, 15-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-10. It wasn’t a routine win at all.
To put the three volleyball titles in row in perspective, consider this: No Hemet High girls team had ever won a CIF title in any sport before the volleyball team won a championship two years ago. The school, which is more than a century old, now, thanks to the girls volleyball team, has three.