Sylmar Hopes Hinge on Jimenez

SYLMAR — After Sylmar High middle blocker Kassy Jimenez suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in the second match of the season, there were a lot of questions about the prospects for the Spartans this season.

But since Jimenez returned in the second to last match of the regular season, it appears to be business as usual for Sylmar.

The Spartans have yet to lose a game in postseason play and have advanced to a division final for the third time in the past four seasons.

They had to struggle a little more than expected in the City Championship semifinals Tuesday night before defeating Garfield 15-11, 16-14, 15-10.

The second-seeded Spartans (15-1), will play two-time defending champion Palisades for the title Friday at Occidental College, despite falling behind in each game.

They trailed, 8-3 and 11-7, before scoring the final eight points of the first game.

Sylmar fell behind 5-1 in the second game before pulling out a 16-14 victory and trailed, 6-1, in the final game before staging a comeback.

“We should be used to it by now because it’s like a religion to us,” Jimenez said. “We fall behind and we just have to fight our way back.”

Despite the difficulty his team had at times, Coach Bob Thomson was more than satisfied with the bottom line.

“We struggled a bit but we came through in the end,” he said. “We fell behind every game but we showed a lot of resolve.”

Junior outside hitter Stephanie Cisneros finished with 21 kills and four aces, and junior outside hitter Nancy Ariza had 11 kills, 15 digs and four aces for Sylmar.

Thomson said the Spartans might have received their biggest emotional lift from Jimenez, who had 10 kills and a .750 hitting percentage.

“I’m not even sure if she’s at 50% right now but we’ll take her at any percentage because she’s the heart and soul of the team,” Thomson said. “She’s the one who gives the emotional lift to everyone else whenever we need it.”

Jimenez realizes they have a difficult challenge ahead against Palisades, which has won 18 championships.

But she said the Spartans are establishing a winning tradition of their own.

“We also have a good tradition,” she said. “We’ll just have to fight hard to keep it going.”