ORANGE, CALIF. – The Northern Region took four of six division matches during the 2016 CIF State Volleyball Championships at Santiago Canyon College. Archbishop Mitty (Open Division) claimed a record 13th State title and Cathedral Catholic (Division II) won their fifth crown, while all other teams captured their first State Championship.
Open Division: Archbishop Mitty, San Jose def. Santa Margarita 25-19, 25-22, 25-18
Archbishop Mitty (38-4) recorded a record 13th State Championship win in their 17th appearance as they defeated Santa Margarita (38-5). Candice Denny led the Monarchs with 17 kills, followed by Nicole Liddle and Karmin Caoili with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Makaela Tanaka recorded 45 assists in the win and as a team Mitty hit .442 for the night. The Eagles were led by Meghan McClure with 15 kills in the loss.
Division I: Edison, Huntington Beach def. Menlo-Atherton 25-20, 25-21, 25-18
Edison (36-8) captured their first State title as they swept Menlo-Atherton (30-6) who were appearing in their second consecutive State Championship. The Chargers were led by the trio of Hannah Phair (13), Cassidy Dennison (10) and Taylor Gray (10) who combined for 33 of the squads 42 kills, while Linsday Sparks recorded 37 assists on the night. Jacqueline DiSanto led the Bears with 13 kills in the loss.
Division II: Cathedral Catholic, San Diego def. Valley Christian, San Jose 25-23, 26-24, 25-22
Cathedral Catholic (29-10) won their fifth State crown and improved to 5-1 all-time in Championship play as they swept Valley Christian (28-13) who appeared in their fourth title game (2-2). The Dons were led by Megan Faraimo (13) and Lindsey Miller (11) with a combined 24 of the teams 41 kills, while Kylie Adams recorded 33 assists for the night. The Warriors were led by Bekah Roth and Melanie Williams with 12 kills each in the loss.
Division III: Acalanes, Lafayette def. Crossroads, Santa Monica 25-13, 28-26, 22-25, 17-25, 16-14
Acalanes (31-9) won their first State Championship in their first appearance in a five-set thriller over Crossroads (27-5). The Dons were led by Parker Jones with 18 kills and 25 digs, while Maddie Kalil (22) and Lane Webster (21) combined for 43 of the squads 51 assists. Also of note was Acalanes 16 service aces for the match. Leading the Roadrunners in the loss was Olympia Nagel-Caland with 14 kills for the night.
Division IV: Menlo School, Atherton def. Point Loma, San Diego 25-18, 25-13, 25-21
Menlo School (25-8) captured their first State crown in their sixth try as they swept Point Loma (24-13). The Knights were led by the duo of Ashely Dreyer and Selena Xu with 10 kills each, while Kristin Sellers totaled 21 assists on the day. The Pointers were led by Sierra Caffo and Charlie Ekstrom who each had 7 kills in the loss.
Division V: Head-Royce, Oakland def. Immanuel, Reedley 25-9, 25-22, 25-14
Head-Royce (34-1) won their first State Championship in their first appearance as they swept Immanuel (27-16). Jessica Almgren-Bell (15) and Sam Patterson-Kohout (12) led the Jayhawks combining for 27 of the teams 48 kills, while Alison Almgren-Bell recorded 24 assists in the win. Danielle Jeffries and Lindsay Unruh totaled 10 kills each for the Eagles in the loss.