It has been six years since College of San Mateo resurrected its volleyball program. Since then, head coach Katie Goldhahn has had the Lady Bulldogs on a rapid upward trajectory.
The Bulldogs achieved a program first Saturday night in the Northern California regional finals, the de facto Sweet 16 round of the California Community College Athletic Association playoffs. No. 4-seed CSM rallied at home for a 25-17, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14 win over No. 12 Cabrillo to earn its first trip to the state championship tournament starting Friday at Fresno City College.
Playing host to a Nor Cal regional final match for the first time ever, CSM promoted the night as a “Blue Out,” with fans dressing in school colors. Those fans included players from the CSM softball and women’s basketball teams, who all rushed the floor after the Bulldogs earned match point to punch their ticket to Fresno.
“It was pretty special,” Goldhahn said. “The celebration was really memorable.”
Matching up with Cabrillo for the third time this season, CSM relied on a strong effort from freshman libero Ashley Chacon and the defensive back row. The Bulldogs’ attacking outsides, led by Coast Conference North Most Valuable Player Naomie Cremoux, was at times frustrated by Cabrillo’s defense. CSM was held to a .151 hitting percentage.
Chacon and freshman outside hitter Tui Saluni gave the offense plenty of chances though. Saluni finished with a team-high 18 digs, while Chacon added 14. Sophomore setter Angelina Estrada added 12 digs, while Cremoux recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 12 digs.
“That set the tone I think to battle in these longer rallies with a really good team like Cabrillo, cause they’re good volleyball players,” Goldhahn said of CSM’s defensive effort.
The Bulldogs won handily in the first two sets but played from behind in Game 3. A late service run saw CSM make up the deficit to force extra-points before Cabrillo won its only set of the night.
“That’s one thing I applaud is the girls’ composure … maybe almost too composed when we shouldn’t have been late in that third set,” Goldhahn said.
Cremoux and sophomore middle Valerie Bruk found the floor early and often in Game 4 though. While Cremoux was held to a .073 hitting percentage, Estrada countered by running the attack through the middle. Bruk has been a consistent threat via the quick set all season but has seen her most effective stretch as of late.
With her 11 kills Saturday, Bruk has now totaled double-digit kills in four straight matches, a new career best.
“She was just pretty consistent,” Goldhahn said. “Both of these players are a threat and have to be a concern for the opposing team’s block and that’s one of the big upsides. That’s something we take a lot of pride in … is we have terminating middles.
“So, I think that’s been a piece of our success is we can run a balanced offense,” she said.
The state championship tournament opens Friday with CSM meeting Moorpark. The single-elimination tourney concludes Sunday with the state championship finals.
“I think it’s a testament they’re all in our group chat …. seeing who our matchup was going to be,” Goldhahn said. “They’ve already found film on Moorpark so they’re super proactive … and that is a testament to to their confidence and what they want to do.”
The top four seeds from Nor Cal are headed to the state tourney, including No. 1 San Joaquin Delta, No. 2 Feather River and No. 3 American River. Southern California’s four representatives are No. 3 Moorpark, No. 5 Orange Coast, No. 9 Grossmont and No. 10 Canyons.
Player honors for the 2022 CCCAA volleyball season were announced last week. Cremoux earned Coast Conference North MVP honors and was one of CSM’s four first-team all-conference players, along with Bruk, Chacon and Estrada. CSM’s all-Coast Conference North second-team selections were Saluni, sophomore middle hitter Grace Thayer and sophomore defensive specialist Zooey Walsworth.
Cremoux and Bruk also earned all Nor Cal regional honors, while Cremoux was one of four Nor Cal players named to the all-state team.
Goldhahn was named co-Coast Conference Coach of the Year, along with Hartnell head coach Jamie Pedroza. Nicole Rathman has served as CSM’s acting head coach since Oct. 19, when Goldhahn gave birth to her first child. Goldhahn returned to the sideline fulltime Nov. 22 for CSM’s playoff opener.
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