By Pete Borello
Lancers claim 7th consecutive CCS title
CCS Volleyball Championships
There were no tears on the Los Altos High sideline last Saturday after the volleyball team fell to Mitty in the Central Coast Section Division I final at West Valley College.
Sure, the Eagles were disappointed with the final result - Mitty won 18-20, 15-12, 15-9, 15-2 - but not with their effort against the top-ranked Division I team in Northern California.
“We left everything on the court,” Los Altos coach Jason Mansfield said. “I’m so proud of them. No one gave us a chance to beat (Mitty) and we played great. That’s why you don’t see anyone crying - the girls know they played their best.”
The second-seeded Eagles opened the match by scoring four straight points, two of them on aces by Heather Smith.
Top-seeded Mitty battled back to take a 12-11 lead, but Los Altos middle blocker Alex Brown refused to let her team fold. Shortly after recording a kill to give Los Altos a 16-15 edge, the senior ended a mini-run by Mitty with a big block that tied the game at 17.
Moments later, Brown served up an ace to end the marathon game, which lasted 42 minutes and featured 43 sideouts.
“That first game is a memory that’s going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” said Brown, who had nine of her 14 kills in the opening game.
Los Altos jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second game, but the Monarchs (23-4) answered back with a five-point run. Mitty took its first lead of the game at 13-12, then finished the Eagles off on a block by star Kelli Walsh and an ace from Jessica Herrera.
After opening Game 3 with a 3-0 lead, Los Altos fell behind 10-5 and never recovered.
Mitty made quick work of the Eagles in the fourth and final game, getting out to an 8-1 lead
“We came out strong and ended down,” said Brown, who had 16 digs and six blocks. “We had trouble finishing games.”
Suedy Ezzatyar tallied eight kills for Los Altos, as did Smith, who also had 24 digs. Ashley Bjorklund added four kills, six blocks and 19 digs.
The Eagles (16-17) opened the Northern California playoffs Tuesday night at Analy (29-8).
St. Francis sweeps Paly
As expected, St. Francis beat Palo Alto in straight games Friday at West Valley to win the CCS Division II crown.
But Dave Gambelin, coach of the top-seeded Lancers, said the 15-10, 15-10, 15-2 win wasn’t that easy.
“It was closer than I expected,” said Gambelin, who’s led St. Francis to seven straight CCS titles. “Palo Alto played well and we were a little out of sync.”
No. 2 Palo Alto held a 10-8 lead in the first game before middle blocker Kelly Corbett took over for St. Francis (39-1).
The Lancers trailed 10-0 in Game 2, then scored 15 straight to win, sparked again by Corbett. She finished with 21 kills on 26 tries. Jessica Gysin had 13 kills.
St. Francis, ranked No. 2 in the nation, hosted Chico (20-10) Tuesday night in the first round of the NorCal playoffs.
