The glut of upsets in the Southern California Regional Playoffs had a Game of Thrones feel as the Western State Conference targeted its opponents and a few rogue lower seeds from other conferences brought down two other high seeds of royalty in Round 1 matches played Tuesday night.
When it was over, #2 seed Pasadena City College, #3 seed San Diego Mesa, and #4 Cypress all were eliminated in stunning sweeps while No. 7 Irvine Valley and No. 8 Mt. San Antonio were knocked off as well. The end result left an amazing five WSC teams alive and well for Round 2 with the conference hosting all four regional finals this Saturday.
Bakersfield, the region's top seed, had to rally from a set down to beat #17 Fullerton in four sets and #6 Moorpark went the distance in a 5-set marathon over #11 MiraCosta. Cinderella Story Canyons, a team that started the year 2-8, knocked off PCC, #10 Ventura swept away 2019 state finalist Irvine Valley, and #5 Santa Barbara City swept #12 Golden West in one of the few regionals that didn't result in a some sort of surprise.
In the North Regionals, only #9 San Joaquin Delta dealt a higher seed a defeat in sweeping #8 Sequoias while the top seven seeds rolled to Round 1 victories.
Saturday's 15 v. 10 SoCal seed matchup between Ventura and Canyons is the first time in regional history two seeds that low will face each other in a Round 2 match.
No. 15 Canyons d. No. 2 Pasadena City, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22: The Cougars (15-10), the second place team from the WSC South, flustered the South Coast Conference champion Lancers to perform a shocking upset, ending PCC's 20-match winning streak. COC limited its mistakes while PCC totaled 29 unforced errors, 11 on serves. Using a strong net block, including nine direct kills and 17 other PCC attack errors that were often due to hitters trying to find a path around the defensive wall of COC OH Damani Harvey (five blocks) and middles Indiah Lewis (five blocks) and Breanna Kelley (three blocks), COC took control of the match. Up 23-22 in the final set, fittingly COC used back-to-back stuffs by the Harvey/Lewis duo to cap the sweep. The Cougars scored just 30 attack kills, but hit an efficient .333, led by Caitlin Liebe (eight kills, .429) and and Jacqueline Ibarra (eight kills, .471). For PCC (23-2), Camila Sanchez-Tellez scored 15 kills, setter Bia Silva added six kills, 10 digs and 15 assists, and Third Team All-American Nalani Young had 10 kills. COC extended its winning streak to nine matches.
No. 14 Long Beach City d. No. 3 San Diego Mesa, 25-18, 27-25, 25-14: The Vikings, a third place team from the SCC, opened the '21 season with a 4-set victory over the Olympians. While the teams took separate paths with Mesa winning the PCAC title, LBCC (16-9) had confidence to repeat its performance and with an extra-point win in set #2, it broke Mesa's spirit in yet another shocking sweep in the regionals. Mesa had an 11-match win streak snapped and finished at 20-5. Mesa was paced by All-SoCal Region selections in Hailey Henderson and Isabelle Bakken. For Long Beach, setter Pearlnaiah Tuliau and MB Abeni Williams-Lowery have been steady performers as All-SCC First Team selections. *Ruled forfeit on Nov. 26, Mesa 21-5, LBCC finishes 15-10.
No. 13 Grossmont d. No. 4 Cypress, 25-18, 25-23, 26-24: The Griffins (18-4) avenged a regular season, 4-set loss to the Orange Empire Conference champion Chargers, whose season ends at 23-3. Grossmont was the second place team from the PCAC. MB Lexi Morris, who scored 13 kills (hit .407) with five blocks, led Grossmont while libero Rylee Suggett totaled 24 digs with a a 2.5 passing rate. MB Allison Carter contributed five kills and four blocks and OH Madison Bogle chipped in eight kills with three blocks. For Cypress, Tainea Allen scored 11 kills, Rachel Gonzales 10 kills, and All-State setter Vanila Pulu-Suliafu set 30 assists with 10 digs.
No. 5 Santa Barbara City d. No. 12 Golden West, 26-24, 25-17, 25-18: The Vaqueros, winners of nine of their last 10, was the only high seed to not lose a set although the Rustlers (16-8) sent the first set to extra points. SBCC (23-4), tri-champs of the WSC North) beat GWC for the second time this season with OH Caroline McCarty scoring 13 kills (.448) and making 12 digs, All-SoCal Region libero Jacelin McKie adding 13 digs and a 2.06 serve receive mark, and Emma Crabbe dishing out 34 assists with six kills and nine digs.
No. 6 Moorpark d. No. 11 MiraCosta, 19-25, 25-16, 18-25, 27-25, 15-11: The Raiders, another tri-champ of the WSC North, went swing for swing v. a tough Spartans squad that led 1-0 and 2-1 in sets. In the fourth set, MiraCosta thought it had scored match point at 25-23, but a linesman's call was overturned on a controversial decision by the head umpire, tying it at 24-24. Moorpark never looked back, winning the fourth in extra points, then holding the lead throughout the fifth set (4-1 in 5-set matches this year) for a 4-point victory to punch their ticket to Round 2. Second Team All-American Janesa Valaoga paced the Raiders with 23 kills and 19 digs while Halle Perkins notched 12 kills, 16 digs and four blocks. For MiraCosta, Maddie Nichols pounded 23 kills in 56 swings (.321) and All-SoCal Region OH Savannah So'oto added 14 kills. The Spartans (17-6) were the third place team from the PCAC.
No. 10 Ventura d. No. 7 Irvine Valley, 25-21, 25-16, 25-21: Down 20-11 in the opening set, the Pirates (18-6) woke up and the Lasers didn't know what hit them. The WSC North tri-champs joined the other champs in a trip to the regional finals thanks to the great play of Second Team All-American setter Nevada Knowles who handed out 35 assists with five kills and two aces as she helped Alexis Balayo score 15 kills (.448) and Victoria Whitney knock down 10 kills (.300). For Irvine Valley, All-State opposite Jayli Nealy tallied 11 kills in only 18 swings (.444) with three blocks while Alexandra Pestolis made 14 digs.
No. 9 Orange Coast d. No. 8 Mt. San Antonio, 25-22, 25-23, 15-25, 17-25, 15-9: The Mounties rallied from 2-0 down to send it to the fifth set, but the Pirates used its vast playoff experience over the years to play a sound final set for the hard-fought road victory. OCC (20-5) moved to 4-1 in 5-set matches and had a tremendous defensive effort by Emily Payne with 37 digs while Sara Enright scored 17 kills, made 23 digs and served three aces. Mt. SAC (20-7) roared back into the match thanks to one of the great defensive performances in regional history by libero Riannel Arevalo who wouldn't let the ball touch the floor all night with an amazing 51 digs. The Mounties mounted a spirited comeback as All-NorCal Region setter Ally Euston dished out 53 assists as Michelle Waters, Allison Whiteman and JJ Quarrels combined for 46 kills. OCC sent Mt. SAC to 0-5 in 5-set matches as Paige Cutwright hit .460 and scored 14 kills and three blocks.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
#1 Feather River d. #16 Hartnell, 25-17, 25-15, 25-14: The state #1 ranked and North top seed Golden Eagles swept the Panthers (16-14) for their 21st straight victory. Golden Valley Conference champ FRC won behind the play of First Team All-American opposite Courtney Oilar with 10 kills and three blocks, Second Team All-American libero Madison Gray with 14 digs, and OH Carissa Chainey with nine kills. MB Sydnee Rowe added six kills and two blocks and setter Nellie Stevenson had 21 assists, 11 digs and served two aces. For Hartnell (16-14), Yesenia Soria had four kills and three blocks and Kanoe Kahana added five kills and seven digs.
#2 West Valley d. #15 Cosumnes River, 25-17, 25-16, 25-7: The Coast Conference South Division champion Vikings (20-4) used tough serving to break down CRC's defense and had an easy sweep. All-NorCal Region setter Sydney Rogers broke open the third set by serving eight straight WVC points to take a commanding 9-0 lead. Rogers dished out 36 assists, MB Alina Valenti drilled 11 kills in 16 swings (no errors), and Third Team All-American Taylor Tullo added 10 kills. Maram Mahfouz had four blocks (three solos) for the Hawks (17-13).
#3 Fresno City d. #14 De Anza, 25-11, 25-16, 25-11: The Central Valley Conference champion Rams hit a remarkable .534 as a team, led by Third Team All-American RS Lexi Pagani with 14 kills (.500) and three aces, First Team All-American MB Diamond'Nique Young with 11 kills (a Ruthian .714), Sayda Taylor with 9 kills (.811) and Julie Pagani having a field day on the sets in producing 40 assists. Fresno is 29-3 and one more win away from being able to play at home, the site of the CCCAA State Championships. De Anza's season ended at 12-13.
#4 Sierra d. #13 Monterey Peninsula, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22: The Big 8 champion Wolverines (22-6) ran their winning streak to 19 in a row, but were tested by MPC (14-11), the Coast South's second place team. The Lobos gritty defense made 100 digs overall as long rallies pushed Sierra and allowed MPC to grab the second set. All-Norcal Region RS Hannah Platt delivered 18 kills while Hailee Mulic did her best for Sierra's D with 30 digs (and three aces). Setter Beka McGill proved to be a difference maker as well with eight kills, 24 assists, 16 digs and three blocks. Veronika Tupy added 11 kills. For MPC, Kylee Moore swung 18 kills with 26 digs while Kathryn Chen scored 13 kills and 16 digs.
#5 American River d. #12 Solano, 22-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-12: In three previous encounters this season, ARC (24-6) recorded sweeps each time v. the Falcons, but the fourth matchup became quickly a test for the Beavers as Bay Valley Conference champ Solano grabbed a 1-0 sets lead. American River, the second place team from the Big 8, settled down after making eight attack errors in the opening set and then used superior hitting from the likes of All-State OH Awelina Fakalata, who hammered 23 kills (hit .340) with 20 digs and four blocks, and Hannah Crother with an efficient .484 on her way to 18 kills. Ola Coker was a force at the net with six blocks (and four kills). In the fourth set, Rory Meneghetti got the ball rolling for the Beavers by serving 12 straight points as ARC pulled away for good. Solano (21-12) saw a 14-match win streak end despite perfect serving by Sammy Brown (12 kills) and Kailyn Kaiser (14 digs) who combined for 31 serve-ins without an error and combined for six aces.
#6 Cabrillo d. #11 Shasta, 25-22, 25-13, 25-21: The Coast North champion Seahawks (17-7) struggled in the opening set with 11 attack errors, then looked like worldbeaters with a .636 attack in a dominating second set (16 kills in 22 attempts) on their way to sweeping Shasta (15-10). All-NorCal Region OH Jazmyn Tubbs was unstoppable at times with 16 kills (just 22 attacks, .591) and three aces. Hailey Naccarato served six of the team's 14 aces and scored 12 kills. Carly Ditz added 35 assists, five kills, four aces and seven digs. Shasta's Jennifer Troxclair ripped nine kills (hit .368) and was strong on passing and defense along with teammate Aliyah Rosado-Cruz (12 digs).
#7 San Mateo d. #10 Butte, 26-28, 25-14, 25-23, 25-6: CSM (21-6), the second place squad from the Coast North, realized right away that Butte was not going to make it easy for the Bulldogs. The Roadrunners had outstanding defense by Teagan Freeman, who made 22 digs, strong setting from Samee Taylor (29 assists) and sound hitting by Amina Moummad (10 kills). After Butte won the opening set in extra points, San Mateo found its groove in set 2 as All-NorCal Region setter Eyriana Eatmon started to distribute the ball to key hitters in Alister Borabu, who was a machine with 18 kills (.562) with three aces, and Naomie Cremoux, who also blasted 18 kills. Eatmon totaled 55 assists, five kills and nine digs. Breanna Evans scored eight kills.
#9 San Joaquin Delta d. #8 Sequoias, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20: The Mustangs (17-9) gave Sequoias (23-7) a taste of its own medicine by sweeping the Giants, a team that performed 19 sweeps over opponents in the regular season. Delta's Savannah LeBarre pounded 14 kills (.385) and Ellie Crowell had 10 kills, 15 assists. eight digs, and four blocks. Delta's All-NorCal Region libero Angela Biazon made 23 digs. For Sequoias, All-NorCal OH Mia Gilcrest was limited to eight kills (had 15 digs) while Hazel Martinez led the team by scoring 12 kills.
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID
