Cabrillo Defeats Grossmont; To Face IVC For State Title
CCCAA State Women's Volleyball Championships
at Cabrillo College
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For the fourth time in two years, Cabrillo beat Grossmont in a CCCAA State Championship tournament match as the defending state champion Seahawks swept the Griffins and advanced to the championship final v. Irvine Valley on Sunday.
Grossmont was undefeated entering the tourney and suffered a 4-set loss on Saturday in the opening round. After the Griffins got past Feather River in an elimination match, Cabrillo then took control of its Sunday meeting by utilizing the strength of its middle blockers—Madison Borch and Patrice Williams.
Borch hit .444 and totaled a match-high 14 kills while Williams was strong with seven kills and three blocks. Kelsey Shaver added a double-double on 12 kills and 10 digs plus two aces. Setter Tyler Gasologa contributed 41 assists and libero Grace Ryan had eight digs.
Grossmont was led again by Lexi Reddick, who made 10 kills and was selected to the All-State Tournament team. Another All-Tournament selection was Brooke Callahan, who made 23 kills in three matches. Setter Brooke Wheeler continued her fine play for the day with five kills on dump plays, 26 assists, two aces and eight digs. Libero Megan Angerstein contributed 11 digs.
"We played well all year and were undefeated coming into this thing, but just lacked composure when we needed it," said Grossmont coach Jamie Ivers, whose program has a second place and now third place finish in 2013-14.
"Other than the last two sets against Feather River, we never could get our offense on track. We bring back a lot of players, so all we can do is go after it again next season."
While there were few large scoring runs in the match, Cabrillo used a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead in set 1. In set 2, the Seahawks outscored the Griffins, 6-2, to close out the game. Williams scored three straight points, two on blocks in one stretch that gave Cabrillo a 17-16 lead. In the final set, Grossmont led 20-19, but two kills by Borch would highlight a 6-1 rally to cap the sweep.
"After facing them the first time, we felt we needed to concentrate on getting the ball to our middle hitters," said Cabrillo coach Gabby Houston-Neville. "Both Madi and Patrice were awesome today and it opened things up for our outsides as well. Patrice is a sparkplug for us. We fed off her energy. I think the home court aspect helps too. It's a lift to have your fans cheering after a big play or big point."
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA/CCCAA State WVB SID, rmlewis@pasadena.edu; 818-679-1335