UNDEFEATED TRIO CONTINUES RUN IN 1ST ROUND REGIONALS
Defending CCCAA state champion and North No. 1 seed Cabrillo College, South No. 1 seed Irvine Valley, and South No. 2 Grossmont all recorded sweeps as their undefeated seasons continued Tuesday during Round 1 of the state regional women's volleyball playoffs. All three teams were the top three finishers at last year's CCCAA tournament.
Two No. 9 seeds, Canyons and Sierra, won on the road as did South No. 10 Orange Coast, rallying from two sets down for a 5-set triumph over No. 7 Santa Barbara City. All other upper seed hosts advanced to Round 2 on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Capsules on the 16 first-round matches follow:
NORCAL REGIONALS
#1 Cabrillo d. #16 Los Medanos, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-8)—The Coast Conference North champion Seahawks won their 59th straight match and extended a streak of 62 sets won in a row with a win over the Bay Valley second-place Mustangs. Cabrillo was paced by '13 state MVP and recently named AVCA All-American OH Kelsey Shaver, who tallied 16 kills and six aces. All-Region MB Madison Borch added 11 kills and All-Region setter Tyler Gasologa recorded 40 assists. For LMC, OH Taylor Scriven, the no. 3 leading kills leader in the state, totaled six kills. Los Medanos finishes at 14-13.
Round 2: Cabrillo (28-0) hosts #9 Sierra
#2 Feather River d. #15 Yuba, 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-13)—The Golden Valley Conference champion Golden Eagles swept the Bay Valley champion 49ers. FRC utilized all of its 12 players, including All-American libero Nina Holmes (11 digs) and All-Region OH Marinda Thomas, who had a quiet evening with three kills and nine digs. Yuba finishes at 16-7.
Round 2: Feather River (23-2) hosts #7 Butte
#3 American River d. #14 Hartnell, 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-12, 25-12)—The co-Big 8 champion Beavers downed the Coast North second place Panthers in four sets. All-State OH Taylor Bunger scored 13 kills and 25 digs while All-Region libero Kiana Chaney totaled 21 digs. MH Courtney Macklin added 12 kills. Hartnell finishes at 15-10.
Round 2: American River (21-6) hosts #6 Fresno City
#4 San Joaquin Delta d. #13 Lassen, 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-14)—The Big 8 co-champion Mustangs cruised past the Golden Valley third place Cougars. All-State OH Kaitlin Drake pounded 13 kills with 13 digs while setter Kirstin Kielhold was strong all-around with 32 assists, 14 blocks, and four blocks. Lassen, a program making its first postseason appearance, finishes at 17-9.
Round 2: SJ Delta (21-2) hosts #5 Foothill
#5 Foothill d. #12 Santa Rosa, 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-17, 25-20)—The Coast South champion Owls downed the feisty Big 8 fourth place Bear Cubs in four sets. Foothill was paced by All-American OH Riana Brennan. SRJC battled with 15 kills from OH Angelica Chesley. Santa Rosa finishes at 14-11.
Round 2: Foothill (21-5) at #4 SJ Delta
#6 Fresno City d. #11 Gavilan, 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 25-27, 25-13)—The Central Valley champion Rams beat another Rams, the Coast South second place team in four sets. Fresno's All-Region MB Katie Lowe scored 14 kills (hit .667, no errors in 21 attempts) and served four aces, OH Alyssa Jones had 11 kills and 15 digs and libero Ally Cruse totaled 35 digs. For Gavilan, DS Daisy Valladares made 18 digs and OH Kendall Campbell had seven kills. Gavilan finishes at 13-13.
Round 2: Fresno City (22-5) at #3 American River
#7 Butte d. #10 Porterville, 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17)—The Golden Valley second place Roadrunners downed the Central Valley second place Pirates. Setter Gabby Delarosa dished out 44 assists in helping MB Alyson Brunner earn 14 kills and OH Taylor Johnson 13 kills. Porterville finishes at 16-10.
Round 2: Butte (22-7) at #2 Feather River
#9 Sierra d. #8 Reedley, 3-1 (17-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-20)—The Big 8 third place Wolverines won on the road, one of five NorCal regional matches that lasted four sets, in defeating the Central Valley second place Tigers. Sierra was led by All-Region libero Sarah Shively. Reedley's All-State and CVC MVP Kristen Torres closed her college career with 15 kills and 21 digs while MB Carissa Arias knocked down 16 kills. Reedley finishes at 18-6.
Round 2: Sierra (12-12) at #1 Cabrillo
SOCAL REGIONALS
#1 Irvine Valley d. #16 San Diego Mesa, 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-14)—The undefeated Orange Empire Conference champion Lasers remained undefeated by sweeping the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference third place Olympians. AVCA All-American MB Annie Mitchem scored 11 kills (just 15 attempts) with eight digs and three aces to lead IVC. All-Region OH Marissa Doran added 13 kills and three blocks while OH Kobi Pekich was error-free on 12 kills in 19 attempts (.600). SD Mesa finishes at 14-11.
Round 2: Irvine Valley (22-0) hosts #9 Canyons
#2 Grossmont d. #15 Ventura, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17)—The undefeated PCAC champion Griffins swept the WSC North fourth place Pirates, making their first playoff appearance in seven years. All-American OH Lexi Reddick scored a team-high eight kills (only 13 attempts) while All-Region MH Gillian Newman added five kills and three blocks. Pirates' OH Mehgan Lambert had five kills and 11 digs. Ventura finishes at 12-11.
Round 2: Grossmont (26-0) hosts #10 Orange Coast
#3 Cypress d. # 14 Pierce, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17)—The Orange Empire second place Chargers swept the WSC North third place Brahmas. Cypress received a huge effort from All-Region OH Lindsey Ray, who slammed 19 kills (.571). The Chargers also were paced by setter Nae Bender with 33 assists, five kills and two aces. Cypress advanced to the second round for the first time since 2010. Led by All-Region OH Jessica Martinez, Pierce finishes at 16-10.
Round 2: Cypress (20-4) hosts #6 Fullerton
#4 El Camino d. #13 Chaffey, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-15)—The South Coast champion Warriors swept the co-Foothill champion Panthers. ECC won its 15th straight match and hit .425 as a team. All-American MB Kim Haney scored just six kills and had four blocks while a trio of OH teammates shined in Nicole Echeverri (13 kills), Darlene Lee (12 kills) and Nickeisha Williams (11 kills). Led by seven kills from OH Asia Shelton, Chaffey finishes at 20-8.
Round 2: El Camino (23-2) hosts #5 Golden West
#5 Golden West d. #12 Moorpark, 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-21)—The OEC's Rustlers (tied for 2nd but behind Cypress for postseason purposes) were sharp in a sweep over the WSC North second place Raiders. OH Gabi Nguyen pounded 14 kills, OH Ashley Pettibone had eight kills and a team-high 12 digs, and OH Daisy Gonzalez contributed nine kills and three blocks. All-Region libero Kelynn Mullally added eight digs. Led by MB Melissa Brueckner with eight kills and two blocks, Moorpark finishes at 12-11.
Round 2: Golden West (19-5) at #4 El Camino
#6 Fullerton d. #11 Victor Valley, 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16)—The OEC's fourth place Hornets rallied from a set down to beat the Foothill co-champion Rams in four sets. OH Grace Lopez pounded 19 kills and served six of Fullerton's 14 aces in the match. All-Region RS/setter Alex Winfield delivered 27 assists, four kills and four aces. OH Briana Cervantes added eight kills and 12 digs. Victor Valley finishes at 15-8.
Round 2: Fullerton (16-6) at #3 Cypress
#10 Orange Coast d. #7 Santa Barbara City, 3-2 (17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-12)—In easily the state's match of the night, the Pirates rallied from two sets down and 8-5 in the fifth set to outlast the host Western State North champion Vaqueros. Orange Coast was one of five Orange Empire Conference teams to advance to the second round and was ranked as high as No. 8 in the state in the Nov. 10 rankings. Two-time OEC First Team libero Carina Perez and setter Danielle Boyette, who scored a kill for match point, led OCC. For SBCC, All-Region setter Madelon Leiphardt registered a season-high 55 assists, OH Katelynn Womack had 14 kills and 17 digs, MB Taylor Badois made 14 kills, and the defensive combo of Eryn Young and Tristen Thompson totaled 25 digs each. Santa Barbara finishes at 20-6.
Round 2: Orange Coast (15-6) at #2 Grossmont
#9 Canyons d. #8 Palomar, 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18)—The WSC South champion Cougars used a remarkable 17 service aces to defeat the PCAC second place Comets in four sets. All-State OH Serena Leduff served six of those aces and added 13 kills and 11 digs. COC OH Lauren Underwood did her part with 12 kills and five aces while Brooke Garelick amassed 13 kills and 18 digs. For Palomar, OH Madi Stark tallied 15 kills and 15 digs, and OH Maci Lerno had 12 kills and 15 digs. COC extended its winning streak to 17 straight. Palomar finishes a rebound season for its program at 19-5.
Round 2: Canyons (21-3) at #1 Irvine Valley
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID, CCCSIA Executive Board
rmlewis@pasadena.edu; 818-679-1335