Teams open NCS tourneys this week
Local high school volleyball teams start the final phase of the season this week, with both Analy and El Molino taking the court in their respective North Coast Section tournaments.
The Analy Tigers (13-11) was awarded the #8 seed in the 16-team NCS Division 3 tourney and will open up at home against #9 seeded Lick Wilmerding on Oct. 23 (after press) in a 7 p.m. match. The winner will move on to face the survivor of #1 Marin Catholic vs. #16 Piner on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
The El Molino Lions (20-12) also drew the #8 seed and will open the NCS Division 4 tournament with a Wednesday, Oct. 24 visit to #9 St. Patrick/St. Vincent in Vallejo at 7 p.m. Should the Lions advance, they’ll play the winner of the #1 Branson vs. #16 Fort Bragg match on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
“Part of what I love about coaching is seeing how we can match up with the other teams,” Lions’ coach Becky Sani said. “We’ll watch video, and I’ll move my lineups around to get mismatches where we can take advantage of the other teams’ weaknesses and exploit our strengths.”
Tigers gain split
The Tigers wrapped up a solid third-place NBL Oak Division campaign last week with a pair of matches, beginning with an Oct. 16 loss at Montgomery in four sets: 25-19, 28-30, 12-25, 19-25. Statistical leaders included Claire Rudderow (9 kills 15 digs), Jalynn Serpa (8 kills), Maddie Windsor (22 assists, 10 digs) and Sara Davidson (10 digs).
Analy traveled to first place Santa Rosa on Oct. 18, handing the league champions their second loss with an outstanding win in four sets: 26-24, 22-25, 30-28, 25-23.
“In set three, we started with a huge deficit,” Analy coach Holly Folendorf said. “The girls fought back and stayed focused, even as the game went into extra points.”
Pacing the Tigers were Rudderow (17 kills, 19 digs), Serpa (10 kills, 12 digs), Bree Scott (18 digs) and Merritt Taggart (7 kills).
Lions set for playoffs
El Molino finished up regular season play in second place in the NBL Redwood Division with a pair of wins, beginning on Oct. 16 in a relatively easy Senior Night win over visiting Elsie Allen in three sets: 25-12, 25-14, 25-10.
The Lions paid tribute to three seniors before the match: middle blocker Stacie Del Carpio, libero Grace Anderson and left side hitter Jacky Martinez.
El Mo traveled to Piner in the league finale on Oct. 18, outlasting the Prospectors in five exciting sets: 25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 9-25, 15-8.
“We started out very strong and were able to take the first two games,” Sani said, noting a shoulder injury to outside hitter Sasha Senal. “Then, in sets three and four, our team lost momentum and just didn’t have any energy. In game five, we left it all on the court. Senal hit amazingly, and all of our parts and pieces fell into place.”
Top performers for the Lions were Kassidy Sani (3 aces, 11 kills, 6 blocks), Sasha Senal (20 kills), Grace McCormick (6 blocks) and Yasmin Sierra (8 kills, 2 blocks).
