LAKEWOOD – The Artesia girls volleyball team defeated Schurr in three sets, 25-9, 25-12, 27-25, to win the CIF Southern Section Division 8 championship Saturday, the first section title in the program’s history.

For Artesia coach Francisco Serrano, his team’s defensive work stood out in the title win.

“Defense was something that we worked on throughout the whole year,” Serrano said. “We knew we had the offense, we just needed to polish and motivate, but it was the defense that got them all the way through.”

Djulianne Goze powered Artesia with 21 kills and two blocks. She also had two aces. Isabel Cruz led Artesia with 37 assists and five aces. Haley Robertson chipped in 17 kills for the Pioneers.

Artesia jumped out to a commanding 12-3 lead early in set one thanks to a tone-setting blo

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