Orange Coast only non-Top 8 seed to Advance to Women's Volleyball Regionals Round Two
(edited with updated stats Nov. 29)
The use of RPI helped the seeding committees for California Community College women's volleyball produce what they believed to be a solid distribution of the top eight seeds in each of the North and South regions. After Round 1 of the CCCAA Playoffs Tuesday evening, smiles were on the faces of those committee members as 15 of those top 16 seeds (eight each region) won and advanced to Saturday's Round 2. The remaining eight regional final matches will determine the field for the CCCAA State Championship tournament Dec. 6-8 at Southwestern College.
The only non-top 8 seed to reach the next round was SoCal #9 Orange Coast as the Pirates were like the proverbial cat with nine lives or eight in this case as they fought off eight match points in a 5-set victory over #8 Long Beach City College.
OCC (19-6) trailed at match point, 24-21, in the fourth set but the Vikings couldn't seal the deal as the Pirates some how won the set at 27-25. LBCC grabbed a commanding 14-10 lead in the fifth set and was one point away from victory. Instead, Orange Coast took a page out of MacGyver's handbook. On her 18th birthday, Mahina Kenoi drilled two kills during a 6-0 run and setter Thea Snider won a joust at the net for match point and a 16-14 fifth-set miracle finish.
Here are Saturday, Nov. 30 Round 2 Matchups:
North: #1 Feather River v. #8 West Valley, #2 Fresno City v. #7 San Joaquin Delta, #3 Cabrillo v. #6 Sierra; #4 American River v. #5 Folsom Lake/four winners advance to State Tournament
South: #1 Irvine Valley v. #9 Orange Coast, #2 Grossmont v. #7 Bakersfield, #3 San Diego Mesa v. #6 MiraCosta, #4 El Camino v. #5 Moorpark/four winners advance to State Tournament
The following are short blurbs on all 16 Round 1 Matches:
SOUTH REGIONALS, ROUND 1 RESULTS
#1 Irvine Valley d. #18 San Diego City, 25-23, 25-21, 25-16. The undefeated Lasers (24-0) swept a Knights team that had beaten #15 Rio Hondo in the Play-In Round in four sets on Nov. 23. For IVC, Gabriela Griego scored 15 kills, Truth Hafey dished out 47 assists and had 14 digs and Anna Unke was a defensive stalwart with 27 digs. In SD City's Play-In Round win, Kiara Pena totaled 20 kills and 20 digs. San Diego's season ends at 15-11.
#2 Grossmont d. #17 Golden West, 25-16, 25-13, 25-23. The Griffins (25-3) swept the Rustlers behind Shaney Lipscomb with 19 kills (hit .519) and Carly Gonzalez adding seven kills and five aces. Haley Morton tallied 42 assists. GWC had swept #16 Mt. San Jacinto in the Play-In Round helped by 12 kills and 10 digs by Madison Holmes. Against Grossmont, Golden West's Sierra Emil scored a team-high 11 kills. Golden West's season ends at 15-9.
#3 San Diego Mesa d. #14 Canyons, 25-20, 25-15, 18-25, 25-22. The Olympians (24-5) are one of three PCAC teams still going after this 4-set victory over the Cougars. Lizzie Wilson scored 18 kills and 12 digs while Madelyn Harris added nine kills, five aces and five blocks. Canyons season ends at 15-8.
#4 El Camino d. #13 Fullerton, 19-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-10. The Warriors (22-5) rallied from two sets down to get by the Hornets as Mikayla Clark pounded seven of her match-high 28 kills in the deciding fifth game. She added 12 digs and four aces. The Donatucci twins were a force as Kelly defended with 24 digs and Caitlin set 56 assists and made 19 digs. In the fifth set, Fullerton trailed just 9-8 but Clark ripped kills for five of ECC's final six points to cap the comeback. If the ECC/Fullerton rivalry has a familiar ring it's because the Warriors beat Fullerton in five sets earlier in the regular season, got past the Hornets in five sets in last year's Round 1 regionals, and defeated Fullerton in five in the 2015 regionals. For Fullerton, Saylor Frew made 16 kills while Samaria Longstreet had 11 kills and four blocks. Fullerton's season ends at 16-11.
#5 Moorpark d. #12 Pasadena City, 30-28, 25-19, 25-17. The Raiders (16-3) fought off four set points in a wild extra-points game one win and rode a dominating performance by Lily Karamanukyan who delivered 18 kills and 15 digs to sweep the Lancers. Also for Moorpark, Lea Raha passed out 34 assists and Whitney Guthrie was solid defensively with 14 digs. For PCC, Erykah Wilson scored 14 kills and 15 digs. Pasadena's season ends at 19-10.
#6 MiraCosta d. #11 Cypress, 27-25, 25-22, 26-24. The Spartans (20-5) were able to avenge a 5-set loss to the Chargers early in the season with a very closely played sweep as two sets reached extra points. Cypress season ends at 15-8.
#7 Bakersfield d. #10 Chaffey, 25-13, 25-13, 25-15. The Renegades (21-2) completely dominated the Panthers with a 34-point differential in the sweep. Bakersfield ran its winning streak to 13 matches. Leading the Renegades was Penelope Zepeda with 11 kills and 10 digs while Jessica Merante added 13 digs. Chaffey's season ends at 21-4 in a fine first inaugural season for the Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) that produced tri-champions and two playoff teams.
#9 Orange Coast d. #8 Long Beach City, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 27-25, 16-14. The Pirates (19-6) had a magical comeback as reported earlier in this release. OCC had swept Long Beach in a regular season match. Leading OCC was Jocelyn Martinez with 17 kills (hit .667) and Lily Johnson with 10 kills and eight blocks. Kenoi added 12 kills and 17 digs and Snider set 50 assists. For LBCC, Brooke Earkman slammed 28 kills and Anisa Lopez 22 kills with Jillian Petnicki totaling 59 assists. Long Beach's season ends at 20-8.
NORTH REGIONALS, ROUND 1 RESULTS
#1 Feather River d. #18 West Hills Coalinga, 25-21, 25-9, 25-14. The Golden Eagles (31-2) have won 30 consecutive sets since their last defeat as they swept an underdog Falcons team. For FRC, All-American Mere Nagase scored eight kills, eight digs and set 20 assists, Sydney Gott made 10 kills and four blocks, and Kayla Joyce passed at a 2.4 rate with 12 digs. For WHC, the team made its season in the Play-In Round with an upset 5-set victory over #14 Gavilan, winning the fifth game 19-17. In that match, Andrea Lopez spiked 18 kills and Gavilan's Teresa Ochoa had 23 kills. West Hills season ends at 17-9.
#2 Fresno City d. #16 Santa Rosa, 20-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-14. The Rams (29-2) didn't quite feel right after they saw a 51-set win streak fall in the opening game, but they made adjustments and quickly recovered to control the rest of the 4-set win over the feisty Bear Cubs. Fresno's hitters put on a clinic, attacking at a .391 clip with Julie Castleman scoring 22 kills (.559), Rylee Kenitzer 18 kills (.538), and Taylor Dilley 13 kills (plus 10 digs and four aces). FCC kept its winning streak going at 19 matches. Logan Peck played well for Santa Rosa with eight kills and seven blocks. In SRJC's Play-In Round, 4-set win over #17 Hartnell, Tallulah Kuula made 11 kills and 24 digs while Aixa Crespo led Hartnell with 14 kills. Santa Rosa's season ends at 17-13.
#3 Cabrillo d. #14 Butte, 25-20, 25-23, 25-18. The Seahawks (22-5) defeated the Roadrunners for the second time this season, this time in a sweep (last one went four sets). Cabrillo's 12th straight victory was paced by All-American Ellie Cary with 13 kills, 15 digs, four aces, and three blocks and Kendra Lis on 30 assists, four aces and three kills. Butte advanced to the round 1 match after a Play-In sweep over #19 Los Medanos when Kaylan Stevens scored 14 kills. Butte's season ends at 20-12.
#4 American River d. #13 Solano, 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18. The defending state champion Beavers (23-7) were given a tough match by the Falcons in going four sets before ARC prevailed. For Solano, Haley Del Rio totaled 21 kills. American River has won 17 of its last 18 matches and were paced again by Allison Linder who had nine kills and 23 digs. ARC also was led by solid peformances from Andreia Keane (11 kills, 29 digs) and Zoe Zimmerman (9 kills, hit .368) Solano's season ends at 22-7.
#5 Folsom Lake d. #12 Foothill, 21-25, 25-21, 25-12, 27-25. The Battle of the Birds of Prey saw the Falcons (22-5) get by the Owls in four sets despite Foothill jumping out to a 1-0 sets lead. Winners of eight straight matches, Folsom Lake is one of four Big 8 Conference teams remaining in the playoffs. Kennedy Crawford set 48 assists and Julie Kenison added 16 kills and 14 digs for Folsom Lake. Alexa Carreon led FHC with 21 kills and 11 digs while Isabelle Issak (18 kills, 12 digs), and Alyssa Topete (44 assists, 10 digs, four aces) helped the lower seed nearly force a fifth set. Foothill's season ends at 16-11.
#6 Sierra d. #11 Sequoias, 25-11, 25-21, 25-15. The Wolverines (22-7) swept the Giants behind a big match from Ashley Almond, who had 12 kills (hit .550), 18 set assists, seven digs and three blocks. Alyssa Orteza added 17 digs. Sierra ran its win streak to 10 in a row. COS ends its season at 20-8.
#7 San Joaquin Delta d. #10 De Anza, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-2. The Mustangs (21-8) can only cite the line from the original Rocky when Apollo Creed uttered "Ain't gonna be no rematch" after again having to endure a 5-set battle v. the Dons, outlasting their worthy opponent in going the distance. Delta had beaten De Anza in five sets earlier this season. For SJD, Jessica Smith with a big night at the net on eight kills and 12 blocks while Analiese Almgren defended 24 digs. For De Anza, Emily Pereira finished with a double-double, 12 digs and 17 kills, Melissa Izquierdo added 15 kills (.394), Kayla Thor had a huge performance with 46 assists while serving extremely tough. Libero, Karina Lucero made 26 digs. De Anza ends its season at 19-9.
#8 West Valley d. #9 San Mateo, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22. The Vikings (20-8) swept the Bulldogs as their wacky up-and-down season keeps going. West Valley has had its highs including wins this year over #3 Cabrillo, #4 American River, #6 Sierra, and #7 SJ Delta and its lows with losses to #17 Hartnell, #14 Gavilan, and #10 De Anza. WVC also pulled out dramatic 5-set wins v. Gavilan and a non-playoff San Francisco squad. Hannah Gamez (10 kills, 11 digs) and Krystal Hin (10 kills, 10 digs) scored double-doubles for San Mateo as its season ends at 18-9.
release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID