RAMONA ---- Connie Halfaker promised her Ramona High girls volleyball team "would play with heart and hustle, and fight for every point." And the Bulldogs did exactly that Tuesday night, diving on the floor, running into walls and chasing after balls that hit the ceiling.

But fight and hustle weren't enough, as the Bulldogs fell to Corona del Mar and its formidable frontline 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18 in the opening round of the CIF Southern California Regional Division II playoffs before a large home crowd.

"We made history," said Halfaker, whose team won the San Diego Section Division II title. "We're the first team in Ramona history to host a state playoff game.

"And the girls were pumped.

"It's always tough to lose, but I never doubted we'd play hard."

The Bulldogs (24-10) actually had control of the match early.

Trailing 22-18 in Game 1, they rallied for a 25-23 win behind eight kills from Jaycee Arthur.

They fell behind early in Game 2, rallied to make it 14-12, but were outscored 11-5 down the stretch.

Corona del Mar (26-6) had complete control of Game 3, but Ramona led 11-9 in Game 4 before the Sea Kings went on a 10-2 run to clinch the match.

Corona del Mar advanced to meet top-seeded Elsinore (31-2) in Saturday's semifinals.

"It's a bummer it's over," said Arthur, who finished with 14 kills and an ace.

"We knew they were good, and we knew they were tall.

"A lot of times, the tall girls aren't the best. But their tall girls were good.

"Our defense played really well, especially against this team.

"We played hard, and we played well, but we faced a really good team.

"I'm so proud of what we accomplished this season. This an amazing team, an amazing group of girls. It was a great senior season."

Morgan Gross added 10 kills, four blocks and an ace for Ramona. Teammate Grace Hallums had six kills and two blocks, while Terra Klem had five kills and an ace.

Setter Bailey Kotas played exceptionally well, as did defensive specialist Tori Sheppard. But Corona del Mar's height and the skill level of 6-foot-2 Claire Ham and 6-1 Megan Boukather proved too much for the Bulldogs.

Ham had 20 kills and three blocks for the Sea Kings. Boukather, who didn't play in Game 1, had eight kills and three blocks, while Sydney Brombel had nine kills, a block and a pair of aces.

"Our defense stood in and did a good job," Halfaker said. "We served well. And we did all right at the net against a big, talented team.

"I asked the girls to fight for every point, and they did.

"I can't ask for more."