BY ALLAN STEELE
HEMET— Anyone expecting the Hemet volleyball team to come out a little rusty after a 10-day layoff got a big surprise Thursday night. The Bulldogs looked far from rusty on the way to a quick three-set sweep of Huntington Beach Ocean View in the second round of the Division 4AA playoffs. Instead, Hemet looked like a team ready to defend its CIF championship. From the 10-0 run to open the match until the final kill by Mallory Marcus, the Bulldogs were energized and in sync. “You can only practice so many days in a row without playing,” coach Janie Washburn said after the 25-12, 25-10, 25-5 victory. “They were getting a little antsy. They just wanted to come out and play and get that first game under our belt.” The top-seeded Bulldogs (20-1) earned a first-round bye, so they had to wait for an opponent. Ocean View, the No. 2 team out of the Golden West League, was never able to overcome the initial onslaught and the 10-0 deficit to start the match. “We were excited, but we were ready,” senior Tristan Self said. “We were like ‘Let’s just play.’ ” Ocean View (10-9-1) tried calling timeouts to get settled during the first set, but it didn’t seem to slow the Bulldogs. The second and third sets were more of the same. “We had a lot of energy today,” Marcus said. “It was a good energy and the crowd helped a lot too.” The win was the 15th straight for Hemet, which also improved to 12-0 at home. The Bulldogs will host a quarterfinal match on Saturday. “It’s good because the first game you always have jitters and nerves so when you get off to a good start it gives you confidence and then it makes the game flow easier,” said Self, who finished with 13 digs and 27 assists. “It’s like we’re free and loose.” Hemet served well and took advantage of an overmatched Seahawks squad. The Bulldogs jumped out to double-digit leads in all three sets and Ocean View, with the exception of a 4-1 run in the first, couldn’t match the energy. “The girls went out and made plays and that’s what we asked them to do and they did it,” Washburn said. Taylor VanZee finished with 19 digs. Marcus and Baylee Christian led Hemet with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Follow Allan Steele on Twitter at @asteele12000