Home Daily News Elsinore girls volleyball team falls to Hilmar in Division V state title match – Press Enterprise

Elsinore girls volleyball team falls to Hilmar in Division V state title match – Press Enterprise

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Tony Ramos
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Elsinore girls volleyball team falls to Hilmar in Division V state title match – Press Enterprise

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ORANGE — When they were younger, Jaycee Hullar and her teammates heard about the history of the Elsinore girls volleyball program and dreamed of bringing the program back to a high level as players themselves.

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Elsinore’s Bayley Mugica (9) holds back tears as she joins her teammates with their second place medals while watching Hilmar accept the first place trophy after their CIF State Division V girls volleyball championship at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, CA, on Friday, November 21, 2025. Hilmar swept Elsinore in three sets. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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That day came Friday, as the Tigers played in the CIF State Division V championship match against Hilmar at Santiago Canyon College. It marked the program’s first state title match in the school’s 136-year history.

Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t what second year head coach Lannie Maffucci and her players had in mind as Elsinore let a lead slip away late in the first set and fell to the Yellowjackets in a little more than an hour by scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-19.

“We have more to be proud of tonight than disappointed in,” Maffucci said. “I thought we were solid when it came to serve and serve receive, but the biggest difference tonight was just the amount of errors we made. I really don’t know a lot of the alumni, but it was so special to see them coming to watch their alma mater and support the program they played for even though they didn’t know me as their coach or these girls and that really meant a lot to us.”

Hullar, a senior outside hitter, had 12 kills and three of Elsinore’s nine service aces to lead the Tigers in defeat. Her sister Cashlee was on the 2016 team that fell in a CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship match against Sierra Canyon.

“I had a sister in the program, so growing up I knew about the history and was determined to one day get here myself,” Hullar said. “It’s been a huge honor to be a Tiger and write my own chapter in our history books. But as I leave this program ,I believe I’ve left a better person than when I got here and that’s what it’s about as much as the wins.”

The opening set saw Elsinore jump out to an early 11-7 lead on the strength of four service aces (two from Hullar and one each from Madeline Fieraru and Amber Svidergol). Hilmar rallied to tie the set at 16 with two kills in a four-point stretch from Reese Ahlem.

Elsinore had a set point at 24-23 following a combination block from Bayley Mugica and Cidney Cotton. However, Hilmar won the last three points, capped by an ace from Johanna Lawlor to take the set

Elsinore (17-18) led 9-8 in the second set before falling behind 15-12 after a combination block from Stella Pires and Ahlem. Fieraru and Cotton had kills which allowed the Tigers to cut their deficit to one at 13-12.But Hilmar went on a 10-2 run to go up 23-14 after an ace from Lia Salvador. A service error by Elsinore gave the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead.

The third set mirrored the first, as Elsinore jumped out to an early lead but was unable to close it out. The Tigers led 9-5 after an ace from Svidergol, but Hilmar took the lead on a pair of attacking errors and a missed serve. Down 19-14, the Tigers fought back and cut the deficit to 19-18 on a Kinsley Pawloski kill off setter dump and Hullar’s third ace of the match.

Hilmar answered and closed on a 7-0 run, capped off by a solo block from Emma Gomes, to close out the sweep.

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