Seahawks Return To State Tourney
APTOS >> The end result was the same, it just took a little longer to get it.
The defending state champion Cabrillo College women's volleyball team dropped a game for the first time in 21 matches, but the top-seeded Seahawks regrouped to sink No. 5 Foothill, 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, in the third round of the NorCal playoffs on Tuesday night to extend their win streak to 61 matches and advance to the state tournament.
Cabrillo will host the two-day state tournament, which begins Saturday.
When it ends, the Seahawks (30-0) hope to be adding another trophy to their collection. But, for now, this win was pretty rewarding.
"In the fourth game, when it was 23-23, I liked out rotation and felt we would pull through," said Seahawks coach Gabrielle Houston-Neville said. "But at 24-24, I thought, 'Oh, wow, this can go five.'"
Cabrillo has been pushed to five games just once this season, when they beat Feather River on Sept. 13.
Otherwise, it has been a lot of domination. Foothill, the Coast Conference South Division champion coming off an upset of No. 4 San Joaquin Delta in the second round of NorCal, snapped the Seahawks' string of 21 straight sweeps.
"We're so excited," Houston-Neville said. "We've been thinking about this all season. From Day 1, our goal was to play in state. And to achieve that goal, undefeated no less, is unbelievable."
Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Shaver, an AVCA All-American out of Harbor High, finished with 22 kills and 13 digs to pace the Coast Conference North champion Seahawks in their defensive battle with Foothill.
Grace Ryan, a sophomore libero, added 17 digs for Cabrillo, and Cassandra Covington made 12 digs.
Shaver hit a road block midway through the match that allowed Foothill to gain confidence after they made several big blocks for points, but Seahawks setter Tyler Gasologa found outlets on offense and finished with 54 assists.
Sophomore middle blocker Madison Borch added 13 kills and hit .500 for the match, which at times, featured service and hitting errors from over-aggressive play.
"I thought I would take losing a game worse," Borch said, "but I was so excited to play another game. It was another chance to show what we have."
It showed the Seahawks have so depth on the attack.
"Shaver never got down on herself," Borch said. "Every one of us responded positively. We all stuck together.
Patrice Williams hit a thunderous kill on a reverse set from Gasologa for an early 8-4 lead in Game 1 and Grace Ryan hit back-to-back aces in Game 1 to make it an 11-6 lead, but the Owls refused to go down easy. Freshman outside hitters Riana Brennan and Kallan Bedard kept Foothill close with some big kills, too.
Borch made a key block and kill late to give Cabrillo the all-important first game.
Cabrillo jumped to a 15-4 lead in Game 2, but the Owls began tipping the ball for big points while the Seahawks were expecting a hard-hit ball instead. Foothill pulled within 23-20 before the Seahawks took a commanding two-game lead.
Foothill continued to play defense, shine at the net with some big blocks and dink their way back into the match by taking Game 3. The teams were tied seven times in the final game, but the Seahawks reached deep to advance from the NorCal playoffs.
"I have a lot of respect for them," Owls coach Katy Ripp said. "We were in it. In the third set we started to do some things we did in our last match (against Delta). Maybe I should've started with that to start."
The dink offense worked well. But Cabrillo made the adjustments when it needed.
Three Owls finished with double-doubles. Bedard had 10 kills and 10 digs and freshman setter Morgan Ho had 30 assists and 12 digs. Brennan, a left-handed hitter and all-state selection, led the way with 20 kills and 12 digs.
"They're just really well-rounded," Brennan said of the Seahawks. "They have some amazing players. It could've gone either way at the end."
Shaver is glad it went Cabrillo's way.
"It's unbelievable," she said. "I have no words. It was mentally exhausting. It was a struggle, but it was a beautiful struggle."
photo by Shmuel Thaler — Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/20141202/seahawks-return-to-state-tourney