BEAUMONT — The Redlands girls volleyball team’s path to a third consecutive Citrus Belt League title faced a strong challenge from an improving Beaumont squad looking for a share of the championship for themselves. If there were any doubts about that Tuesday night, they vanished after Beaumont won the first game. Redlands met the challenge, taking the next three sets to win 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 and secure the league title outright. . “This was one of the best matches we have played this year,” Redlands coach Corrine Flowers said. “This was a very high level of high school volleyball.” The Terriers closed the regular season with a 21-11 record and 9-1 mark in CBL play. Beaumont is 13-4 and finished tied with Citrus Valley for second place in the league standings with a 7-3 record. Redlands was able to hit serves and returns deep across the net, but Beaumont was able to get almost every shot with good defensive play. With the score tied at 15 in the opening set, Beaumont scored seven of the next eight points. Ally Chase, a junior outside hitter, had two kills during that streak. Chase and teammate Morgan Kinser were strong frontcourt players during the entire match. That led Flowers to make some adjustments, arranging different players to create favorable matchups. “I think we came out flat in the first game, and Beaumont came out strong on their home court,” said Flowers, who is in her 13th season as the Terriers’ head coach. “We improved our energy and started to relax and play Redlands volleyball.” One example of the changes was putting Saniyah Sobers in a position to hit strong kills in the second and third sets. That changed in the fourth set, when Kameryn Carpenter was shifted to a position where she was set up for kills, while Sobers played back in a defensive role. “Coach always changes rotations and it always seems to work,” Sobers said. “We’ve worked hard. People had doubts about us because we lost a lot of seniors. We just have to focus on the opponent in front of us.” Related Articles High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Alexandra Olmedo, Centennial High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Jeremiah Duhu, Beaumont High School Sports | Santiago volleyball standout Fallyn Blotzer closing in on program’s kills record High School Sports | IE Varsity’s high school football rankings, Oct. 14 High School Sports | IE Varsity’s Week 8 high school football schedule, Oct. 17-19 The first CBL match on Sept. 26 between the teams proved an easy victory for Redlands. Beaumont coach Jessica Lopez noted a change in the team’s mental approach. “We weren’t mentally tough against Redlands the first time we played against them – it was like night and day,” Lopez said. “We spread the kills around and passed really well in the first game.” There was a substantial crowd which filled the bleachers on the far side of the Beaumont gym. Lopez said there were usually enthusiastic fans on most nights, but Tuesday night was a bigger crowd than usual. “They are usually loud and rowdy, and they were louder and rowdier tonight,” said Lopez, who noted that Sobers and Devi’arre Lucas took good swings for Redlands.