Tenth Seeds Advance In Women's Volleyball Round 2 Regionals
It was a perfect 10 on Tuesday as 10th seeds Shasta and Mt. San Antonio Colleges scored mini upsets to highlight Round 2 of the Women's Volleyball Regional Playoffs.
In the North, Shasta knocked off #7 Solano in four sets while Mt. SAC also went on the road to defeat South #7 Santa Barbara City in four games.
The other big upset also occurred in the South as #14 San Bernardino Valley, the only remaining team that remains from last Saturday's Round 1 matches, surprised #3 Moorpark in four sets.
The following are recaps of the 16 regional matches.
NORTH ROUND 2 RECAPS
No. 1 Fresno City 3, #16 Ohlone 0, 25-17, 25-18, 25-11: The Rams (27-4) won their 20th straight, hitting an efficient .357 as a team to sweep the Renegades (23-8). FCC was paced by Karina Rodriguez who landed 11 kills and eight kills each by Phoebe Constable and Jayla Iverson. Malia Edwardson served four of the team's 12 aces and defended 11 digs. For Ohlone, Hannah Issenmann hit six kills and Ruby Santos made 11 digs.
No. 2 American River 3, #15 Santa Rosa 0, 25-18, 25-13, 25-18: The all Big 8 Conference matchup went the Beavers (26-4) way for the third time this year v. the Bear Cubs (14-17) as they extend their win streak to 11. ARC's right side hitters Lacey Frailey (eight kills) and Kyla Powell (nine kills, .321) played well both offensively and defensively. Morgan Castaneda added nine kills and 11 digs while Sophia MacPherson served five aces and set 20 assists.
No. 3 San Joaquin Delta 3, #14 West Valley 1, 25-21, 24-26, 29-27, 25-21: The Mustangs (26-4) won the all-important third set in extra points to win in four over the Vikings (15-13). Caprisa Brock scored a triple-double on 16 kills (.306), 21 assists and 11 digs to go with four blocks and three aces. Kyra Saiers was a defensive dynamo as she made 36 digs and passed at a 2.64 rating. Soleil Sands added six kills and six blocks while Chase Silva collected 12 kills and eight digs.
No. 4 Sierra 3, #13 Cosumnes River 1, 25-20, 24-26, 25-16, 25-21: The Wolverines (26-5) were leery of facing fellow Big 8 opponent the Hawks (17-13) a third time this season, and for good reason after CRC had upset Delta in a late season match. Sierra overcame a loss in set #2 and then took control to win in four sets. Taylor Stolz ripped 21 kills (hit .400) with 12 digs, five aces and three blocks while Jordyn Deter dished out 49 assists. Sofia Guerrero made 13 digs, served three aces and passed at a 2.3. Paige Skinner chipped in 10 kills and 11 digs.
No. 5 Taft 3, #12 Hartnell 1, 22-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-18: The Cougars (27-4) rallied from a set down to go on to defeat the Panthers (17-13) in four sets. Hartnell had a hot start paced by back-to-back aces from Theresa Habrik, who totaled 31 assists and 11 digs. Katie Barclay was solid as well with 14 kills and nine digs. Taft got things going in the second set behind 10 of a match-high 26 kills (.367) from Grace Witcher, who also tallied 17 digs. Serving and defense led to taking a 2-1 lead and a .406 team hitting attack in the fourth capped the comeback win. Sutton Thompson led seven Cougars in double digits in digs with 21 and landed three of the squad's 11 aces. Avery Claunch and Natalie Castillo both posted 10-10 doubles in kills and digs.
No. 6 Feather River 3, #11 Coalinga 1, 25-18, 19-25, 25-16, 26-24: The Golden Eagles (27-7) were tested well by the Falcons (21-8), who won the second set and pushed the fourth to extra points before FRC closed it out in the fourth. Winning its eighth straight, Feather River was paced by Lucy Ryan and Chloe Albiez each with 12 kills, Tiare Faupula's eight kills (.636) and four blocks, Mia Rossman with 13 digs and Maya Cann totaling 31 assists, nine digs and two aces.
No. 10 Shasta 3, #7 Solano 1, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22: A record-setting year for the Knights' Madelyn Frick continued as she scored 23 kills (.367) as she holds the new state mark for kills in a season with 686. Her play helped the Shasta (27-8) outlast the Falcons (26-6) in four sets. Frick broke the record of 651 set by Southwestern's Brittany McPartland in 2007. Shawnee Church had a strong performance giving out 47 assists with 12 digs and four aces while Emerie Brown posted 17 kills and made 23 digs. Another defensive stalwart was Whitney King with 26 digs. For Solano, Aliyah Aguiar scored 18 kills, AJ Priillo notched 28 digs, and the pair of Jada Cuffie and Vanessa Semien each had 11 kills.
No. 9 Merced 3, #8 San Mateo, 25-22, 16-25, 27-25, 25-17: The Blue Devils (20-6) won on the road in four sets to give the Central Valley Conference three teams now in the North final eight. Gianna Veldhuis spiked 21 kills with 17 digs and Priscilla Barnett had 16 kills and nine digs. Mylah Steverson found the two hitters often with 42 assists and Emma Chavarria tallied 15 digs and three aces. For San Mateo (19-8), Aniyah Hall was a force with 19 kills and seven blocks, Kat Suayan contributed 17 digs and four aces, and Olivia Cooper floored 11 kills.
SOUTH ROUND 2 RECAPS
No. 1 Long Beach City 3, #16 Bakersfield 0, 25-21, 25-9, 26-24: The Vikings (22-1) have won eight in a row, sweeping the Renegades (17-11). Kaylani Moncada set the tone for the LBCC defense with 24 digs plus two aces while Alanna Jones scored six kills in just nine swings. For Bakersfield, Stevie Yursik scored 13 kills and Alexandra Watts added 10 more.
No. 2 San Diego Mesa 3, #15 Ventura 1, 18-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19: The Olympians (24-1) upped their win streak to 15 by coming back from a set down to beat the Pirates (16-10) in four. Mesa had another steady setting performance by Jaiden Mojica with 46 assists plus 10 digs and three aces. Halen Kiefer pounded 12 kills with 15 digs, two blocks and two aces, Eva Luna landed 12 kills, and Lilia Rosales needed just 12 attempts to score eight kills (.667). For VC, Josephine Rauch set down 11 kills and had 14 digs for team highs while Shai Daniels collected eight kills, 12 digs and twirled four aces.
No. 14 San Bernardino Valley 3, #3 Moorpark 1, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18: The Wolverines (19-7) won their second playoff match in a row by shocking the Raiders (22-5) and ending their 10-match win streak in four. The teams were tied 22-22 in the pivotal third set, but two attack errors and a backline kill by Manaia Mamea gave SBVC a 2-1 lead. In the third, Mamea served an 8-0 run that included two aces and three kills by the talented hitter to take a commanding 12-4 lead. Moorpark cut it to 18-16, but a 7-2 run capped by a kill from Loleaulelei Mamea finished off the big win for San Bernardino. The Mamea sisters totaled 41 kills (25 by Lola, 16 by Mana and she had 20 digs) and Christina Muller set 43 assists and raked in 17 digs.
No. 4 LA Mission 3, #13 Saddleback 1, 21-25, 25-18, 28-26, 25-23: The Eagles (26-4) outlasted the Bobcats (18-7) in four to advance. Saddleback took the first set closed out on a Lulu Utterback kill. Tied at 1-1, the teams battled point-for-point. Knotted 26-26 in set #3, Tawnie Ohrt rifled back-to-back kills for a 2-1 Mission lead. In the fourth, it was Rio Sandaiji's turn to score consecutive kills to cap the LAM victory. Ohrt scored 13 kills, Amya Cheatham January was a net presence with nine kills and eight blocks while Sofia Vazquez contributed 13 digs, served two big aces late in the fourth set, and passed at 2.36. Taylor Boone dished out 45 assists and Oluwatoyin Sunday scored 11 kills.
No. 5 Orange Coast 3, #12 Canyons 0, 25-6, 25-17, 25-14: The Pirates (24-2) ran their current win streak to 14 with a resounding sweep over the Cougars (16-10). OCC raced to a 21-3 lead for the opening-set rout, then a 10-3 run during the second set. In the third, tied at 13-13, Orange Coast scored 12 of the next 13 points to complete the win. For OCC, Nika Safavi powered 19 kills, Jordan Packer delivered 31 assists and five aces, and Carolina Vasquez made 17 digs.
No. 6 Cerritos 3, #11 Grossmont 0, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17: The Falcons (19-3) rode the play of Sydney May (13 kills, hit .367, 17 assists, four blocks) to sweep the Griffins (19-9) and pick up their first playoff win in 19 years. In the second set, Grossmont ran off a 4-0 run to tie it at 20-20. At 23-23, an attack error was followed by a May ace to take the set. In the third, a 7-0 run made it 22-12 and put the match away. For Cerritos, Lillianna Peterson scored 10 kills, Monserrat Rodriguez had eight kills and eight digs, and Priscilla Castillo defended 17 digs. Grossmont was paced by Andrea Torres on 12 kills and Alyssa De Young's 10 kills.
No. 10 Mt. San Antonio 3, #7 Santa Barbara City 1, 25-15, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23: The Mounties (20-7) relied on the powerful swing of Jordyn Romano, who crushed 20 kills (.457) with five blocks to get past the host Vaqueros (19-8) in four sets. Miyah Tiscareno was a defensive wizard with 30 digs, Eva Becerra set 36 assists and dumped five kills, and Candace Ceballos added eight kills and 12 digs. Kaylin Cooney hit .419 for her 16 kills that paced SBCC.
No. 8 Palomar 3, #9 Santa Monica 1, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20: The Comets (19-5) fought back from behind 1-0 to produce a 4-set victory over the Corsairs (17-9). Janell Spires led the Palomar attack with 19 kills (and 14 digs), followed by Emma Bambe with 10 kills, 11 digs, and an impressive six aces. Kylana Madayag created 29 assists. For SMC, Nicole Lankton floored 19 kills (hit .548) and Annah Legaspi served four aces and made 19 digs.
REGIONAL FINALS, ROUND 3
Saturday, Nov. 30
NORTH
Fresno hosts Merced
Sierra v. Taft
American River v. Shasta
San Joaquin Delta v. Feather River
SOUTH
Long Beach v. Palomar
LA Mission v. Orange Coast
SD Mesa v. Mt. San Antonio
Cerritos v. San Bernardino Valley
Recaps by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID