LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 13: Los Gatos' Sarah Herman (7) reaches for the ball against Palo Alto High School in the second set at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Girls volleyball
CCS PLAYOFFS
Division I: Los Gatos 3, Branham 1
Los Gatos coach Nicole Ciari called it an “absolute battle.”
With a spot in the Central Coast Section Division I final on the line, the second-seeded Wildcats and third-seeded Branham played an epic semifinal match on Thursday night.
Los Gatos, on its home court, ultimately prevailed 26-24, 27-25, 28-30, 25-22 to advance to play top-seeded Salinas on Saturday at Palo Alto High. The championship match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Salinas reached the final with a 25-13, 26-24, 25-11 victory at home on Thursday over fourth-seeded Mountain View.
“Branham brought their A game and really pushed us to step up to the challenge,” Ciari said in an email to the Bay Area News Group. “Going point for point (to) the end of all 4 sets was a testament to both teams’ mental toughness and desire to win the match. I am so proud of how our team worked together for each and every point no matter what the score was.”
Manon Raux-Mariwaki came off the bench and made what Ciari called “two amazing aces” to win the second set. The coach said the junior “really set the tone for the next two sets.”
Sarah Herman played with a high motor all match as Ciari said the senior “was determined to not let a single ball hit the floor without her touching it.”
On offense, Los Gatos’ two middles, Ally Black and Portia Zeidler, were creative and opened space for hitters Mia Halsey and Nicole Steiner to score, Ciari added.
“I could not be more proud of this team,” Ciari said. “We are truly peaking and all the hard work they have put in this season is paying off at the perfect time.”
Other matches
In Division II, sixth-seeded Woodside pulled off another upset, outlasting second-seeded Monta Vista 23-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-19, 15-13. The Wildcats will play top-seeded Aragon in the final on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Palo Alto High. Aragon needed five sets to beat fourth-seeded San Mateo 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12. … In Division III, top-seeded Burlingame and third-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral cruised in semifinal matches. They will play for the championship on Saturday at Gunn High at 12:30 p.m. … Fourth-seeded Notre Dame-Belmont and second-seeded Harbor advanced to the Division IV final, which will be played on Saturday at Gunn High at 5:30 p.m. … In Division V, second-seeded Crystal Springs Uplands and fourth-seeded Castilleja will play for the championship on Saturday at Gunn High at 3 p.m.
CCS Open final
The Open Division championship between top-seeded Archbishop Mitty and second-seeded St. Francis will be played on Saturday at Palo Alto High at 12:30 p.m. Joseph Dycus recapped their semifinal wins on Wednesday here.
Girls water polo
NCS PLAYOFFS
In Division I on Thursday in the North Coast Section, fifth-seeded Monte Vista rolled past No. 12 seed Amador Valley 14-6, sixth-seeded Washington-Fremont beat No. 11 California 15-6, eighth-seeded James Logan turned back No. 9 seed Castro Valley 10-6 and No. 10 seed Redwood beat No. 7 seed Liberty 10-6. The winners all advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Boys water polo
NCS PLAYOFFS
In Division I on Thursday, fifth-seeded Las Lomas defeated No. 12 seed Amador Valley 13-7, sixth-seeded Northgate held off No. 11 seed Liberty 16-13, seventh-seeded College Park edged No. 10 seed Foothill 12-10 and eighth-seeded Terra Linda toppled No. 9 seed California 13-10. The winners will play in quarterfinal matches on Saturday.
Schedules
Schedules for fall sports playoffs can be found here: CCS (all sports) and NCS (volleyball and water polo)
Originally published at Darren Sabedra