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2006 CIF State
Volleyball
Championships
December
2, 2006
Event Center, San Jose State University
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Division
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Teams
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I
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LOS ALAMITOS def. FOOTHILL, Pleasanton 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 |
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II
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MIRA COSTA, Manhattan Beach
def. ARCHBISHOP MITTY, San Jose 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 |
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III
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CAMPOLINDO, Moraga def. LAGUNA BEACH 25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13 |
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IV
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MARYMOUNT, Los Angeles def. CHRISTIAN BROTHERS, Sacramento 25-14, 25-12, 25-13 |
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V
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BAKERSFIELD CHRISTIAN def. CASTILLEJA, Palo Alto 21-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7
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Following are recaps of each state
championship finals match:
Division
I: Los Alamitos Picks Up Third Crown in Four Years
Los Alamitos put on a serving clinic, recording 18 aces en route to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 sweep of Foothill that secured a second straight Div. I title for the Griffins.
A Katie Crosby ace set the tone early for Los Al, but the previously unbeaten Falcons hung in, passing efficiently and getting big production from middles Felicia Willoughby and Betsy Sedlak. After a Foothill service error, however, Geena Urango took over from behind the service line for the Los Alamitos. She served three aces in a five-point run that gave the Griffins the lead for good.
Foothill also started well in Game 2, getting four straight kills from
Willoughby
as part of a 5-0 start. But passing serve completely abandoned the Falcons from that point, as Urango, Alex Griffiths, Kelly Holford and Nikki Osuna all contributed aces towards an insurmountable 19-9 Los Al lead.
”We knew 1-6 that every one was going to put up a tough serve,” said Foothill coach Dusty Collins. “That’s where I felt the game was going to be won or lost.”
Urango, who was named finals MVP, started Game 3 with a kill, added the fifth of her team high six aces to grow the lead to 7-1, then contributed kills and blocks throughout the game, including the clinching roof that stifled Foothill’s last spurt.
Urango said that winning state after failing to win a CIF Section title was extremely important for the team and its nine seniors.
”What we really wanted to do was gain back our respect from everyone and prove that we are champions.”
Sedlak and
Willoughby
combined for 16 kills for Foothill. Urango said that serving tough was the key to neutralizing them.
”I knew they had really good middles,” she said. “If they couldn’t pass serve, that would make it hard for them to set the middle.”
With the loss, Foothill became the last team from the state of
California
to taste defeat in 2006.
”38-0 was amazing,” said Foothill setter Christy Payne. “It’s been so much fun. None of us wanted it to end. Of course, we wanted to end in a win, but 38-1; that’s not bad.”
MVP: Geena Urango, Los Alamitos
All-Tournament
Team: Betsy Sedlak, Felicia Willoughby, Foothill; Bethany Keisner, Katie Crosby, Los Alamitos
Sportsmanship Award
Winners: Jessica Adams, Foothill; Nikki Osuna, Los Alamitos
Division
II: Mira Costa Sends Out Longtime Coach DaeLea Aldrich with Three Straight State Championships
Archbishop Mitty played great.
It just wasn’t quite good enough to deny the nation’s No. 1 team.
Behind Alix Klineman’s 28 kills, the Mira Costa Mustangs won the state Div. II title, and the national title that accompanies it, pulling out a hard-fought 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 decision over the Monarchs.
After the final point scored, on a Klineman kill, the Mira Costa team raised a toy horse high in the air and all jumped to put a hand on it. They should have been touching Klineman, because she was the horse that carried the Mustangs to victory. Every time Mira Costa needed a big play, the Mustangs went to the 6-5 Klineman, who delivered and delivered and delivered.
“We couldn’t stop her at the pin,” said Archbishop Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar. “My instruction to my team was to grow. We didn’t grow fast enough.”
Mitty middles Shannon Lowell and Amanda Gil combined for 22 kills and kept the nation’s No. 4 team in every game, but the Monarchs were stymied by Costa’s highlevel of play, plus the little things – a missed serve here, a great dig there.
”When you’re losing by 2-3 points, it magnifies the little things,” said Almazan-Cezar.
Klineman may have been Costa’s star of stars, but the Mustangs won the state title in style, with every player who stepped on the court making a major contribution. It was a fitting tribute to head coach DaeLea Aldrich, who is retiring after 25 years at the Manhattan Beach school.
”I couldn’t have written the script any better,” she said.
MVP: Alix Klineman, Mira Costa
All-Tournament
Team: Emily Burke and Amanda Gil, Archbishop Mitty; Lauren Bledsoe and Kendall Bateman, Mira Costa
Sportsmanship Award
Winners: Alison Mort, Archbishop Mitty; Alexa Altamura, Mira Costa
Division
III: Campolindo Becomes First SF East Bay Team to Win Volleyball State Championship
Remember the days at the old schoolyard? Kat Stevens does. The endless repetitions to make sure that the pass goes right to target. The countless hours in the gym, perfecting the technique that pops a hard driven ball back up.
Saturday, Stevens put that all to great use, dominating the back court for Campolindo, which came from behind to beat Laguna Beach, 25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13, and claim its first state title.
“She’s always asking, ‘Will you hit at me?’” said Campo assistant coach Mike Gee. “Can you hit it at me more?”
In a match that was decided by a razor-thin margin, those extra reps -- that one perfect pass or great dig – may have proved the difference.
“They probably defended the floor better than we did,” said Laguna coach Lance Stewart. “We just didn’t quite control the ball as well as we’re capable of.”
After the teams split the first four sets, the turning point came at 8-8 in Game 5, when Amy Martini delivered back to back kills to put the Cougars up for good. Dana Hutchinson’s kill brought Laguna within 14-13, but K.C. Eames slammed the door with a hot shot through the Breaker block.
Hutchinson led Laguna with 23 kills. Zoe Garrett added 16 kills and seven aces. She set the tone early for the Breakers with her jump serve, which produced four aces in a row in a Game 2 that Laguna dominated.
But Campolindo recovered well from being dominated in Game 2, made Game 3 close and then pushed through in the final two games.
“When we get smashed, every single time we answer back,” said Campo head coach Scott Bishop. “You can’t coach that. All credit to my team. We just make plays.”
Martini, who finished with 23 kills and 18 digs, was named finals MVP. Setter Chris Wells, who had 48 assists, and middle blocker Cari Kahn, who came up with seven total blocks, including a crucial stuff late in Game 5, also made the all tournament team for Campolindo.
MVP: Amy Martini, Campolindo
All-Tournament
Team: Dana Hutchinson and Zoe Garrett, Laguna Beach; Christina Wells, Cari Kahn, Campolindo
Sportsmanship Award
Winners: Alexandra Palmer, Laguna Beach; Madison McClintock, Campolindo
Division
IV: Marymount Sweeps For Fifth State Title in Seven Years (Sixth Overall)
Fast starts for Marymount spelled a quick end for Christian Brothers in the Div. IV final. The Sailors, who won four consecutive titles between 2000 and 2003, used unreturnable jump serves and a quick offense spearheaded by setter Sammie Selsky to take large early leads in every game and cruise to the win, 25-14, 25-12, 25-13.
Christian Brothers, which was appearing in its first state title match, led 2-0 in Game 1 on a kill from Kayla Neto and a Brittany Woodard ace, but the Falcons never saw the lead again. After a Marymount side out, Selsky served two aces as part of a three-point run. Marymount took control of the game and the match from that point forward with relentless defensive intensity and an offense that got contributions from across the net. Selsky was named finals MVP after contributing four kills, five aces and 27 assists.
Woodard and Nicole Link played well for Christian Brothers, combining for 13 of the team’s 21 kills.
“The fact that we made it here and played together as a team no matter what is bigger than winning the match,” Link explained.
Senior Megan Tryon, the only player on varsity when Marymount last won a state title, led the Sailors with 10 kills. She also had six of the team’s 13 aces.
“She’s a workhorse,” said Marymount coach Cari Klein. “She was really great throughout the playoffs.”
Junior Alex Ayers, who missed all of last year with a knee injury, added seven kills for the Sailors, but she received a scare late in Game 3 when she came down on the foot of a Christian Brothers player who was under the net. Carried off the court, Ayers returned three points later to deliver the title clincher.
MVP: Samantha Selsky
All-Tournament
Team: Kayla Neto and Nicole Link, Christian Brothers; Megan Tryon and Kelly Irvin, Marymount
Sportsmanship Award
Winners: Nicole Link, Christian Brothers; Samantha Selsky, Marymount
Division
V: Bakersfield Christian Rallies Big in First State Finals
High ball to Charlene DeHoog in the middle. High ball to DeHoog on the right. On the left. Back row. Anywhere and every time.
That was the formula for Bakersfield Christian, which rode 32 huge kills from its senior striker to win the first state title in school history, beating Castilleja, 21-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7.
Castilleja, which had won 16 of its last 19 matches entering the today, had the chance to win the match in three games. The Gators used the strong setting of Katherine Jordan, sound back-row defense anchored by Audrey Kuan and error-free ball to win Games 1 and 3 and they led Game 2, 23-21, before Bakersfield rattled off the last four points to stay in the match.
Bakersfield Christian squared the match at two sets apiece by scoring the last four points of Game 4, then used that momentum, and a six-point serving run from Carson Kovac to get off to a fast start in Game 5 and cruise to the win. DeHoog, an easy choice for finals MVP, had the clinching kill.
“By the fifth game we were ready to play,” said Eagle coach Judy Rexroth. “We ended the way we should have started.”
MVP: Charlene DeHoog, Bakersfield Christian
All-Tournament
Team: Katherine Jordan and Laura Smith, Castilleja; Elisse Wolff and Justine Schoneveld, Bakersfield Christian
Sportsmanship Award
Winner: Audrey Kuan, Castilleja
recaps
written by John Tawa, PrepVolleyball.com
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