Solano, Santa Monica, OCC record exciting wins in Women's Volleyball Round 2 Regionals
The Women's Volleyball Regional Playoffs have reached the finals in eight brackets across the state as the Round 3 contests on Saturday will decide those who will punch tickets to the 3C2A State Championships.
All eight top seeds are still going and three road seeds also advanced in North's #9 Solano, South's #10 Santa Monica and #12 Orange Coast.
Star Performance: Stila Fresenius of Saddleback set a state record by becoming the first player in community college history to record a 40-30 in kills-digs. Read about her match v. Orange Coast in the capsules.
The schedule for Saturday and recaps on the 16 regional playoff matches from Tuesday follow:
Round 3
Regional Finals
Saturday, Nov. 25
SOUTH
#1 San Diego Mesa hosts #8 Mt. San Antonio
#2 Ventura hosts #10 Santa Monica
#3 Grossmont hosts #6 Rio Hondo
#4 Irvine Valley hosts #12 Orange Coast
NORTH
#1 San Joaquin Delta hosts #9 Solano
#2 Fresno City hosts #7 West Valley
#3 Feather River hosts #6 Lassen
#4 Sierra hosts #5 American River
RECAPS FROM ROUND 2
November 21
NORTH
#1 San Joaquin Delta d. #17 Modesto, 3-1 (25-10, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21): The state #1-ranked Mustangs had more trouble than they wanted v. the Pirates, who had a great playoff run end in the 4-set defeat. All-Americans Kiyah Irby, who scored 19 kills with 11 digs and Caprisa Brock, who dished out 45 assists and served six aces, led Delta as did Bella Cormack with 13 kills (hit .487) for Delta. MJC got 10 kills and five blocks by Alize Martinez while Emerson Garcia tallied 25 set assists and 13 digs plus two kills and two blocks. Delta upped its record to 26-1 while Modesto, fifth place in the Big 8, ended 17-12, but followed being beat 75-43 in its previous meeting v. SJD to win a set v. the mighty Mustangs. Modesto had ended the regular season with an upset of #5 seed Sierra and won a 5-set thriller over #16 Cabrillo in Round 1.
#2 Fresno City d. #15 San Mateo, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16): The Rams record a sweep over the Bulldogs, beating them for the third time this season while extending their win streak to 15 matches. All-American Druegan Davis totaled nine kills, nine set assists, five blocks, five digs and three aces, Katelyn Goforth scored 12 kills, and Karley Lake served seven of the team's 15 aces for FCC, who improved to 25-4. CSM's All-NorCal Region Olivia Harrison did what she could in her community college finale as she pounded 13 kills (hit .526) and had four blocks. The Bulldogs finished 14-11.
#3 Feather River d. #14 Monterey Peninsula, 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-16): The Golden Eagles (25-5) hit an outstanding .443 as a team, led by 13 kills by Autumn Bennett (hit .647). All-American Katherine Gee totaled 25 digs and twirled four aces, All-NorCal Region Kiyana Faupula notched five kills in eight swings with two blocks, and Ashlee Kraft added eight kills (.429) and eight digs. MPC (16-7) received eight kills and two blocks by Magdalena Tabel.
#4 Sierra d. #13 Cosumnesa River, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-10): The Wolverines (22-6) defeated the Hawks (17-12) for the third time this year behind the play of All-NorCal Region selections Taylor Stoltz with 12 kills and three blocks and Jordyn Deter, who totaled 37 assists, 10 digs, three aces and two kills. Paige Skinner (.478) also was big with 12 kills and nine digs and Alexis Boccia who rocketed 10 kills (.588) with four blocks. CRC was paced by Jordyn Kwalwasser, who had 11 digs and three kills.
#5 American River d. #12 Taft, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-22): It's 10 straight victories for the red-hot Beavers (23-6), led by All-NorCal Region Reese Ampi with 15 digs, Mia Santos landing nine kills, and Morgan Castaneda's 12 digs and six kills. Taft (18-11) had solid performances by Kailee Wakatake with 17 digs, Ariana Helbling's 19 assists, 10 digs and two aces, and McCall Crippen with eight kills.
#6 Lassen d. #11 West Hills Coalinga, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14): The Cougars (28-4) were sent to extra points in the final set to survive a 5-set marathon win v. a determined Falcons team. Lassen's All-State Cayton White bombed 17 kills and had 24 digs, Julie Lawrence tallied 13 kills, 27 assists, eight digs and four aces, and Presley Burrows scored 14 kills with 13 digs. WHC (16-9) had a number of great efforts including 23 kills (.388) and 13 digs by Zoe Ruskovsky, 41 assists, 10 digs, three aces and two blocks by Sarah Wold, Bailee Costa with 19 digs, and Kaylee Bayer scoring 12 kills.
#7 West Valley d. #10 Santa Rosa, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 28-26, 25-18): The Vikings (21-3) are another squad on a roll as they picked up their 15th straight win in downing the Bear Cubs (18-12) in four sets. WVC was paced by Alex Franklin with 13 kills and 15 digs, Francesca Zanotti dishing out 45 assists and placing four aces, Sophie Ehret landing 10 kills, and Maggie Carroll scoring four aces with eight digs. SRJC received 12 kills from Sophia Lopez, Daya Mosqueda's 13 digs, five set assists, and three aces, and Aleah Molina collecting eight kills and five blocks.
#9 Solano d. #8 Hartnell, 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25): The Falcons (25-6) advanced to the regional finals for the first time in program history with a mild 4-set upset over the Panthers (21-7), who had their 17-match win streak stopped. Solano's All-NorCal Vanya Paopao set 24 assists, made 17 digs and scored five kills, Hannah Del Rio powered 15 kills, Lexi Vasquez made 24 digs and served four aces, and Maria Decelle scored 12 digs and two blocks. Hartnell's All-American Renee Nachtigall was solid with 17 kills and 20 digs, Jocelyn Hernandez had 13 kills, and Daniela Reyez totaled 26 digs. In the fifth set, Hartnell nearly took it to a fifth set, leading 24-23, but Paopao made a defensive save on a block and then somehow made an off-balance dig off a hard attack by Nachtigall that led to a Solano point. After Nachtigall tied it at 25-25 with a kill, Solano scored on a block, then Paopao made an instinctive 2-hand toss that landed toward the backline for match point. Solano avenged a 4-set loss to Hartnell in the Falcons' season opener at the Delta Classic.
SOUTH
#1 San Diego Mesa d. Santa Barbara, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-23): The Olympians (25-2) recorded their second win of the season over the Vaqueros (16-11) in this sweep. All-American Kailyn Jager rifled 12 kills with 14 digs, Emily Eltrich was strong with 11 kills, 12 digs and five blocks, and Jaiden Mojica totaled 31 assists, 15 digs, three kills and two aces. For SBCC, Gabby Russell scored 14 killls with two aces and Nevaeh Tillet added nine kills.
#2 Ventura d. Bakersfield, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21): In the regular season, the Pirates (20-3) were stretched to five sets in a tough win over the Renegades (17-7), but this rematch was all VC in a sweep. Ventura was paced by All-American Kayla Murdoch, who rifled 20 kills (.314) with three blocks, All-SoCal Region Autumn Rojelio's 23 digs, and Makena Schaumloeffel, who had four kills and tossed five aces. For Bakersfield, All-Region Aubree Dees just missed a triple-double on nine kills, 11 digs and 10 set assists and Alexandra Johnson's seven kills and 10 digs.
#3 Grossmont d. Mt. San Jacinto, 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-10): The Griffins (25-1) extended their current, state-longest win streak to 19 matches with their second sweep of the year over the Eagles. All-American Kate Beezer scored five kills with 10 digs while All-SoCal Region Chelsee Trendler was a game-changer near the net as she distributed 27 assists and totaled an amazing eight kills off dump plays. Mercedes Lopez launched seven of the team's 14 aces. For MSJC (23-6), Mckenna Conklin and Brooklynn Thomas each scored six kills.
#4 Irvine Valley d. Pasadena, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16): The Lasers (20-4) swept the Lancers (19-9) behind All-Region Tessa Marocco with seven kills, eight digs and three aces and Ava Guenther's five kills, five blocks and two aces. PCC led 14-7 in the second set, but it was the only time in the match that IVC faced adversity as PCC made 30 attack errors overall. Emma Yogan finished her run at Pasadena with more than 600 kills, including 11 in this match while Lindsay Delgadillo made 26 assists and two aces.
#12 Orange Coast d. #5 Saddleback, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 26-28, 15-10): Sometimes facing a team three times in a season can be an omen for the team that won the first two. That's what happened to the Bobcats (18-6) who saw the Pirates (18-7) perform the upset in this 5-set playoff between the two Orange Empire Conference foes. Despite Saddleback's loss, Fresenius, a 6-foot-1 freshman, All-State selection, put on perhaps the greatest individual performance in playoff history by pounding 42 kills (amazing 114 attacks) and making 30 digs as a one-player machine that nearly put Saddleback (18-6) over the top. Instead, OCC trailed 8-7 in the fifth set and then used a strategy by long-time, state champion head coach Chuck Cutenese to offset Fresenius' play when she reached the back row. The Pirates chipped away and ultimately received a 3-0 serving run by Jordan Packer, including an ace to close out the OCC victory. Long rallies happened throughout the match as Caroline Vasquez made 28 digs while the Pirates offense was led by Lulu Utterback with 17 kills, 10 digs and two aces and Madison Hopkins' 11 kills. For Saddleback, Bryn Craig-Kromm made 23 digs.
#6 Rio Hondo d. #11 Moorpark, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 14-25, 25-20): The Roadrunners (21-4) were a force on their home floor all year and this was no different as they went a perfect 10-0 in Whittier this year with a 4-set win over a very good Raiders (15-9) squad. All-American Maria Bejines has been a dominating presence all year and she ripped 16 kills with 15 digs, two aces and a solo block while Jaida Zuniga made 31 digs. Jade Fuentes added 11 kills and Carly Kejmar doubled up with 32 assists, 14 digs plus three kills. For Moorpark, All-Region Cashe Olswang floored 12 kills with 14 digs and two blocks.
#10 Santa Monica d. #7 Cypress, 3-2 (25-15, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 17-15): In what has to be one of the most improbable comebacks in state postseason history, the Corsairs (22-7) upset the Chargers (19-7) by rallying from down 10-1, 11-2, then 13-7 to win the fifth set and advance. Cypress trailed the match 2-0 in sets to force a fifth with victories in sets #3 and #4. The wild fifth saw the Corsairs finish a 7-0 run to take the 14-13 lead. Twice, Cypress' Rose Whitter saved match point with kills to tie at 14-14 and 15-15. But SMC's Natalie Fernandez drive was blocked out of bounds for a dramatic match-point kill. Fernandez totaled 14 kills, 10 digs and six blocks, followed by Mia Paulson's eight kills, 24 set assists, 15 digs, four blocks and three aces. Other Corsairs top performers were Maielle Riva's 11 kills and six blocks and Mylah Niska scoring 10 kills (.562) with five blocks. Whitter led Cypress with 14 kills (.355) as well as Zoe Ziegler, who had 14 kills (.414) and four blocks. Shayna Martinez picked up 11 kills and 12 digs while Hailey Church dished out 40 assists with four aces.
#8 Mt. San Antonio d. #9 Long Beach, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22): Just like the case in OCC v. Saddleback, this South Coast encounter was a third is the charm for the Mounties who had lost two regular season matches against the Vikings in conference play, both that went the 5-set distance. Mt. SAC (18-9) didn't let this one go long and avenged their defeats with a sweep of LBCC as All-Region Andrea Brewer scored 17 kills (.432) with two blocks, Candace Ceballos had eight kills, 10 digs and three aces, and Capri Salmon handed out 31 assists. LBCC (18-5) was paced by All-State Pearlnaiah Tuliau who had six kills, 17 assists, and 13 digs while Enaya Vaielua recorded 10 kills, 13 assists and seven digs.
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID