2007 State Volleyball Championship Recaps
Saturday, Decmber 1, 2007
The Event Center, San Jose State University
DIVISION I
LAKEWOOD def NEVADA UNION (Grass Valley)
25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 26-24
“I thought the difference was unforced errors and we had a few more than the other guys,” said Miner head coach Bob Rogers. “Other than that it looked like a toss up to me.”
A scoring burst from sophomore middle Taylor Hollins put Lakewood on top early in Game 1 and the Lancers maintained the lead with strong serving and superior passing. Sarah McAtee and Kylie Miraldi had nice moments for Nevada Union, but it wasn’t enough, as Lakewood got contributions on offense from Jessica Thomas, Jaz Orozco and Megan Moenoa and was the far better team on defense in the 25-18 win.
Nevada Union turned it around in Game 2 with excellent serving and a strong end-game effort from senior OH Christian Woodruff.
Lakewood’s athletic superiority showed through in the last two games. Setter Megan Johnson fed undersized but super quick middles Hollins and Kristie Bender often, with great success, then sent the sets outside, where Thomas, Orozco and Moenoa delivered with crushing finality. Hollins, who hit an astounding .812 for the match, delivered the title clinching kill, her 13th of the night, for the Lancers when it appeared that Nevada Union might have enough to force a fifth game.
The win for Lakewood was especially meaningful. Four years ago this week, the Lancers lost longtime head coach Steve Lewis to liver cancer. For four years, Lakewood players have played in his honor and memory. His jacket is always draped over the last seat on the bench as a reminder of what he meant to this program.
“I wanted to get him a ring,” said Lakewood coach Mike Wadley, who assisted his good friend Lewis for several years and took over upon his death. “Finally, he gets a ring.”
MVP: Jazmine Jacobsen-Orozco, Lakewood
All-Tournament: Megan Johnson and Jessica Thomas, Lakewood; Sarah McAtee and Kylie Miraldi, Nevada Union
Sportsmanship Award: Megan Johnson, Lakewood; Kristin Dahle, Nevada Union
DIVISION II
MIRA COSTA (Manhattan Beach) def ARCHBISHOP MITTY (San Jose)
25-17, 25-23, 25-16
Mira Costa won its fourth state title in a row, defeating Northern California power Archbishop Mitty for the third straight year. With the 25-17, 25-23, 25-16 win, the Mustangs completed a perfect season and claimed their second straight PrepVolleyball.com national championship.
Archbishop Mitty led 2-0 in Game 1, fostering hopes that the match would be more competitive than last year’s final or the two straight-set wins Mira Costa had achieved over the Monarchs in tournament finals during the regular season. But a kill from sophomore sensation Falyn Fonoimoana, the first of her match-high 15, set the Mustangs on the path to victory.
“They pass so well,” said Archbishop Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar. “They serve so well. We knew the team that passed and served best would win and they did that.”
Mira Costa also hit the ball well, collecting 43 kills on 86 swings with just four errors. Mitty, by contrast, scored 32 kills on the same number of swings and committed 14 errors. Rachel Williams led the Monarchs with 14 kills. Amanda Gil added 11.
Fonoimoana was named finals MVP, but she was hardly the only Mustang to shine. Lane Carico had 11 kills and several jaw-dropping digs. Stevi Robinson had 10 kills and several jaw-dropping digs. Libero Lauren Law also contributed several highlight-reel saves. Kendall Bateman ran the offense smoothly.
“This team never disappoints in a final,” said first-year Mira Costa head coach Lisa Arce-Zimmerman. “They adjusted when they needed to, had fire when they needed to and finesse when they needed to.”
MVP: Falyn Fonoimoana, Mira Costa
All-Tournament: Kendall Bateman and Lane Carico, Mira Costa; Amanda Gil and Rachel Williams, Archbishop Mitty
Sportsmanship Award: Lane Carico, Mira Costa; Taylor Smith, Archbishop Mitty
DIVISION III
HARVARD-WESTLAKE (North Hollywood) def
SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (San Francisco)
25-12, 25-12, 25-20
Sacred Heart Cathedral, from San Francisco, was outgunned from the start and could do little against the much taller, more powerful Southern California champs. Gabi Jolly, Sacred Heart’s athletic junior middle, delivered several highlight kills for the Irish, but they were dispersed throughout all three games. Harvard-Westlake’s attack, on the other hand, was non-stop. Orchestrated perfectly by senior setter Katherine Sebastian, the Wolverines scored on the slide, on the left, in the back row and on well-timed dumps, placing the ball wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. It was a virtuoso performance for a team that had won 19 in a row (now 20), most in three straight, over the past two months.
Jolly had 10 kills for Sacred Heart Cathedral, which did not lead at all in the first two games. The Irish (31-11) played better in Game 3 and were tied with Harvard-Westlake at 16 apiece until the Wolverines went on a 9-4 closing run, capped by a Kasey Kissick ace, for the title.
“We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game,” said Irish coach Margi Beima. “It would have been nice to see them when we were playing our best. Our serve-receive was never able to get in any sort of rhythm and they passed excellent.”
“We’ve been playing like this for a while,” said Adam Black, Harvard-Westlake’s first-year coach. “It takes a good team to get here. We played well.”
MVP: Megan Norton, Harvard-Westlake
All-Tournament: Cathryn Quinn and Katherine Sebastian, Harvard-Westlake; Gabrielle Jolly and Natalie Chaparro, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sportsmanship Award: Kasey Kissick, Harvard-Westlake; Lisa Hipp, Sacred Heart Cathedral
DIVISION IV
SANTA FE CHRISTIAN (Solana Beach) def HARKER (San Jose)
25-20, 25-18, 25-17
Harker, making its first appearance in a state final, was whistled 10 times for double contact and that spelled trouble. When facing a powerful Santa Fe Christian team seeking its third state title in five years, that was far too many.
SFC, from Solana Beach, happily gobbled up those points, got terrific defense from freshman libero MacKenzie Gilbert and dominated the net en route to the 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 win.
A 6-0 run by Harker, sparked by Candace Silva-Martin and Gwynne Davis, gave the Northern California champs a 13-8 lead in Game 1, but Santa Fe Christian responded with a 9-1 run that turned the game around. Gilbert authored several jaw dropping digs, setter Taylor Johnson was solid and both Victoria Adelhelm and Kristin Miller found little resistance at the net. Tanya Schmidt, who was named match MVP, had eight of her match-high 15 kills in the game for Harker, but it wasn’t enough. Miller’s third kill in the final four points gave Santa Fe Christian the 25-20 win.
Santa Fe Christian (32-4) had an easier time in the final two games, dominating in all phases. Kristin Miller and Chelsea Oemcke were an unbeatable tandem on the left side, Faith Steinwedell put up a huge roof on the right and Adelhelm was a menace both blocking and hitting. Her athletic tip scored the final point in the impressive sweep, which continued a trend in Div. IV, which has gone to a Southern California team for the past 11 years.
Kristin Miller’s nine kills led Santa Fe Christian, which also got seven kills from Adelhelm and six apiece from Steinwedell and Oemcke.
“They had hitters who hit real high and real hard,” said Smith, whose team finished 38-5. “They came at us from every angle. They didn’t have one key player. You had to watch everybody.”
MVP: Tanya Schmidt, Harker
All-Tournament: Victoria Adelhem and Kristin Miller and Faith Steinwedell, Santa Fe Christian; Gwynne Davis, Harker
Sportsmanship Award: Amy Alkazin, Santa Fe Christian; Christine Emery Harker
DIVISION V
MT. MADONNA (Watsonville) def CENTRAL VALLEY CHRISTIAN (Visalia)
25-21, 25-15, 25-12
Central Valley Christian, from Visalia, dominated to start the match, scoring the first six points against a nervous Hawk team and eventually built the lead to nine, as senior setter Amber Nederend found five separate attackers for kills. But Mt. Madonna, from Watsonville, settled down, and started passing tough and serving tougher, while CVC’s back row passing, defense and communication broke down. Several aces from finals MVP Hannah Meade and libero Joanna Koda and strong left side play from Alexa Rosendale brought Mt. Madonna, which has six seniors, all the way back and paved the way for the Hawks’ sweep.
“Our defense was great today,” said Mt. Madonna head coach Gabby Houston. “My philosophy is that serving and passing are the two more important things. And we dug practically everything.”
Meade and Rosendale each had 11 kills to lead Mt. Madonna.
“Their hitters were very smart,” said CVC head coach Amanda Oliver. “It was hard to adjust to them because they would change where they were hitting.”
Senior middle blocker Whitney Van den Berg led Central Valley Christian (30-7) with seven kills and two blocks, but half of her production came in the first half of the first game. After that, the Mt. Madonna back row, led by Koda, Soma Sharan and Shelby Botula, made kills from anyone very hard to come by.
MVP: Hannah Meade, Mt. Madonna
All-Tournament: Erin Mitchell and Alexa Rosendale, Mt. Madonna; Amber Nederend and Jessica Monteiro, Central Valley Christian
Sportsmanship Award: Hannah Meade, Mt. Madonna; Erica Nederend, Central Valley Christian
recaps courtesy of John Tawa, PrepVolleyball.com