SEVEN TOP SEEDS PASS ROUND 2 TESTS
Seven of the eight top seeds in the state advanced Saturday in Round 2 of the California Community College women's volleyball regional playoffs. Only North
No. 4 San Joaquin Delta was upset by No. 5 Foothill in a 5-set thriller.
The trio of defending CCCAA state champion and North No. 1 Cabrillo, South No. 1 Irvine Valley, and South 2 Grossmont extended their undefeated seasons.
The Round 3 regional finals are set for Tuesday, Dec. 2 with the North featuring Foothill playing at Cabrillo and No. 2 Feather River hosting No. 3 American River. The South will see Irvine Valley facing No. 4 El Camino and No. 2 Grossmont hosting No. 3 Cypress.
Capsules on the 8 second-round matches follow:
NORCAL REGIONALS
#1 Cabrillo d. #9 Sierra, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-16)—The Coast Conference North champion Seahawks extended their winning streak to 60 matches and their consecutive sets won string to 65 with the sweep over the Wolverines. All-American OH Kelsey Shaver made a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs (plus three aces) to pace Cabrillo. All-Region MB Madison Borch added eight kills and three blocks. All-Region setter Tyler Gasologa registered 32 assists, three kills and eight digs. Grace Ryan contributed 15 digs. Sierra finishes at 12-13, under .500 in record but deceiving in that 10 of their defeats were against North teams that reached the second round of regionals.
Round 3: Cabrillo (29-0) hosts #5 Foothill
#2 Feather River d. #7 Butte, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-17)—For the third time this year, the Golden Valley Conference champion Golden Eagles defeated their league rival, the Roadrunners. Feather River was paced by All-American libero Nina Holmes with 18 digs while All-Region OH Marinda Thomas scored nine kills as did OH Alanna Watt. For Butte, MB Erika Click scored seven kills and DS Lacie Landrum tallied 10 digs. Feather River's only two losses this year came against Cabrillo, including a 5-set defeat during the Delta Classic in September. The Golden Eagles picked up their 16th sweep. Butte finishes at 22-8.
Round 3: Feather River (24-2) hosts #3 American River
#3 American River d. #6 Fresno City, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24)—The co-Big 8 champion Beavers snapped the Central Valley champion Rams' 15-contest win streak and took the rubber match of three played this year between the two squads. All-State OH Taylor Bunger totaled 15 kills and 15 digs while All-Region libero Kiana Chaney made 25 digs. MH Courtney Macklin added eight kills and seven blocks (six solo). Setter Monica Udahl chipped in 39 assists, 11 digs and four aces, MH Erianna Williams scored 11 kills and five blocks. For Fresno, All-Region MB Katie Lowe and fellow MB Malerie Crenshaw each scored 11 kills. Libero Ally Cruse amassed 24 digs while setter Ashlyn Riding added 21 assists and 19 digs. Fresno finishes at 22-6.
Round 3: American River (22-6) at No. 2 Feather River
#5 Foothill d. #4 San Joaquin Delta, 3-2 (14-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-5)—The Coast South champion Owls rallied from 2-0 sets down and handed the host Mustangs just their third loss of the year in five sets. Foothill had lost two previous meetings early in the season (one also in five sets) v. Delta. The Mustangs were within two points of sweeping the Owls at 23-23, but Foothill responded with kills by OH Kallan Bedard and OH Genevie Ramirez to win game 3. Foothill used a 9-2 run to open set 4 and went on to force a fifth game. In the deciding set, it was All-American OH Riana Brennan pounding five of her team-high 21 kills as the Owls grabbed a 10-2 lead and completed the comeback. Bedard added 17 kills. Delta, playing without two regular starters since the start of the playoffs, was paced by All-State OH Kaitlin Drake, who knocked down 24 kills and made 21 digs. DS Danielle Arteaga counted 33 digs. Delta finishes at 21-3.
Round 3: Foothill (22-5) at No. 1 Cabrillo
SOCAL REGIONALS
#1 Irvine Valley d. #9 Canyons, 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-17)—The Orange Empire Conference champion Lasers withstood a battle by the WSC South champion Cougars to continue its undefeated season. IVC did record its 20th sweep, including all 12 at its gym. Canyons' 17-match win streak was halted. For Irvine, AVCA All-American MB Annie Mitchem powered 15 kills while All-Region OH Marissa Doran added seven kills and 12 digs. OPP Juju Cannon contributed 10 kills and OH Kobi Pekich picked up nine kills with eight digs. In the opening game, COC fought back from an 18-12 deficit and forced extra points at 24-24 on a kill by All-State OH Serena Leduff. Irvine setter Hailey Jones (40 assists) made a tip kill for set point. Canyons was led by Leduff's nine kills and OH Brooke Garelick, who had eight kills and 13 digs. Canyons finishes at 21-4.
Round 3: Irvine Valley (23-0) hosts #4 El Camino
#2 Grossmont d. #10 Orange Coast, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-22)—The undefeated PCAC champion Griffins finally got to face an Orange Empire team for the first time in 27 matches, and swept the Pirates. It was Grossmont's 23rd sweep of the year. Grossmont's offense was efficient with a .453 attack percentage. All-American OH Lexi Reddick had an exceptional match with 15 kills (.609 hitting) and 11 digs. It was also a big night for setter Rachel Linden, who was versatile on five kills, five aces and 36 assists. MH Brooke Callahan added nine kills. Orange Coast finishes at 15-7.
Round 3: Grossmont (27-0) hosts #3 Cypress
#3 Cypress d. #6 Fullerton, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 15-9)—The Chargers beat the OEC rival Hornets for the third time this season in rallying from
1-0 and 2-1 game deficits for the 5-set victory. Cypress All-Region OH Lindsey Ray upped her playoff total to 40 kills in two matches by scoring 21 kills v. OCC and adding 18 digs. The Chargers received another outstanding effort by setter Nae Bender with 54 assists, six blocks and two aces. MB Makayla Taylor added 15 kills (.448) and 21 digs while OH Charity Dennis scored 12 kills. For Fullerton, All-Region RS/setter Alex Winfield dished out 33 assists and had five kills. OH Briana Cervantes scored a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs and MB Kelsey Smith totaled 11 kills and four blocks. Libero Alexa Fairfield had 18 digs. Fullerton finishes at 16-7.
Round 3: Cypress (21-4) at #2 Grossmont
#4 El Camino d. #5 Golden West, 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 25-23)—The South Coast champion Warriors ran their winning streak to 16 in a row with a 4-set win over the Rustlers. Golden West used sharp serving in set 3, including three aces, to send it to the fourth set. El Camino responded by getting back to a consistent passing and hitting attack to clinch the match. All-American MB Kim Haney pounded 14 kills (.444) and added four blocks. Again, ECC relied on its OH trio of Nickeisha Williams (16 kills, seven blocks), Darlene Lee (15 kills, 17 digs), and Nicole Echeverri (nine kills, 11 digs), Darlene Lee (12 kills) and Nickeisha Williams (11 kills). Setter Sadie Fraker totaled 56 assists. Laynie Thompson contributed eight kills and five blocks. Golden West was paced by All-Region libero Kelynn Mullally with 15 digs while OHs Ashley Pettibone (16 kills), Gabi Nguyen (11 kills), and Daisy Gonzalez (11 kills) led the offense. Setter Andrea Gonzalez provided 45 assists and 10 digs. El Camino controlled the net with 12 team blocks to four by GW. Golden West finishes at 19-6.
Round 3: El Camino (24-2) at #1 Irvine Valley
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID, CCCSIA Executive Board
rmlewis@pasadena.edu; 818-679-1335