Div. I: Branson (24-10) (North Coast Section) d. Palos Verdes (23-9) (Southern Section), 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13, Friday, 6:30 p.m.

Branson and Palos Verdes played one of the most intense, competitive, and entertaining finals in CIF State history Friday night before Branson scored the final two points in Game 5 to come away with the remarkable win. The title was the sixth for the Bulls under coach Michelle Brazil but the first that wasn’t in Division V for the elite private school with just 345 students in grades 9-12.

The match was so fun, so well-contested that Brazil made a remarkable admission: with the score tied at 12-12 in the fifth, the VERY competitive coach didn’t care what the outcome of the match would be.

“I was so joyous that whole fifth set,” Brazil admitted. “At 12-12 in a time out, I thought, ‘I honestly don’t care who wins right now. This is just so much fun.’ I honestly meant it. I don’t think I’ve ever had that feeling before.”

Branson, the North Coast Section Division 3 champions, had just rallied from down 12-8 in the fifth to tie the score and force Palos Verdes coach Patrick Lynch into a timeout. The Bulls got to all square behind stupendous defense from defensive specialist Dylan Whisenant, including three digs of the “Are you kidding me?!” variety. Those digs extended rallies, allowing Elena Fisher and Cayman Stein to score kills to have the Bulls believing that coming all the way back to win was possible.

In the huddle, Lynch told his team to take it one point at a time, while admitting to himself that his Sea Kings were right to be frustrated when swings that should have gone down and would have gone down against any other team were being transitioned into point-scoring swings against them.

“Dani [Rusich] pounded from middle,” he explained. “We had thebbest set off the best pass and the best swing from a middle that was hot and they dug it, transitioned, and the ball came down on our side. That takes a lot of the wind out of your sails when something happens like that.”

Coming out of the huddle at 12-12, Palos Verdes setter Tatum Lane set the ball on the right pin to 6-4 hammer Kaci DeMaria. Fisher, giving up six inches, set her feet and prepared to challenge the swing.

ROOOF!

Five straight points since DeMaria had split the Branson defense to record her 27th kill of the match and put PV ahead 12-8.

Palos Verdes tried DeMaria twice more on the next point. And why not? DeMaria is one of the best sophomore hitters in the country!

The Branson back row of Whisenant and libero Lauren Dignan was up to the challenge. Their digs prolonged the rally, but Palos Verdes proved resilient. Rusich was able to score to bring the set, and match, back to all square, 13-13.

In a match that had extended beyond two hours, where each side had scored at least 100 points, the team that scored the next two would be the state champions.

Junior setter Logan Tusher, who finished with 53 assists on the night, set Fisher as a first option. It was a sound choice, as Fisher had already terminated 28 times against just five errors. Her power tip was money and Branson had the only match point it would need because when Palos Verdes’ next swing went long, the Bulls were state champions!

Asked to use one word to describe how she felt watching her team complete a season in which it won the Marin County Athletic League, North Coast Section, NorCal, and State titles, Brazil said, “Proud.”

“Regardless of how today turned out, the pride and joy I have watching these people play is beyond anything I would have imagined this season,” she continued. “I’m a proud mama.”

***

A couple of hours earlier, before first serve, Brazil wasn’t sure what she was about to be a part of. Palos Verdes was the higher-ranked team and came to Santiago Canyon College with the experience of having played three state-ranked top 10 teams in the inaugural pool play format of Southern Section’s Division 1, followed by regional quarterfinal, semifinal and regional championship wins over three more formidable powers. Not only were the Sea Kings, who twice defeated Redondo Union during the regular season and had match point against Mira Costa, battle-tested, they were hungry for the first volleyball title in school history.

“When we got into the post-season, I felt like we were in position to make a run,” Lynch said. “We played three games on the road in the Southern Section and could have said ‘our season is done.’ After that, we went 4-0 at home in State, one of the most incredible runs I’ve been a part of. Period. It shows they don’t give up. They made a goal to win state and get to the championship game. That’s why we’re here.”

***

Melanie Tilles opened the match with a block and kill, part of a 3-0 Palos Verdes run that signaled that the Sea Kings planned to be formidable on this night.

Branson scored six of the next eight points, as Tusher, a Stanford beach commit, distributed the ball for kills to Fisher and Sadie Snipes on the left and Eva Lacy on the right.

The teams traded points and the lead until 14-all, when a PV service error opened the floodgates for Branson to rattle off 10 points in a row, nine on the serve of Anna Palfy. Fisher had five of her eight kills in the set during that run in the game Branson eventually won, 25-17, on Tusher’s kill.

“When we came out and won that first set, I thought, ‘Okay I want to win this,’” Brazil explained. “I was almost protecting before because I’ve been here, and it feels really, really bad to lose.”

Branson almost won the second set as well. Tied at 16-16, Palos Verdes forged ahead on the strength of kills from DeMaria and Rusich and enviable Meg Walsh defense. The 20-16 lead was rapidly extinguished due to PV errors and a Tusher ace, sending Branson in front, 21-20. The teams battled to 23-23 when Tilles scored on the “hang and bang” to give Palos Verdes a set point. The Sea Kings were called for being under the net, negating the opportunity. But Palos Verdes got another one when Kendall Beshear scored on an overpass swing. Branson was called for being in the net on the final point, giving the Sea Kings the set and tying the match.

Game 3 broke Branson’s way thanks to outrageous Bulls defense. Ahead 12-11, Palos Verdes delivered what it thought was a game-tying swing only to see Dignan go into the placards beyond the end line to keep a ball up. Lacy finished the point from the right side, putting the Bulls up by two.

“Their defense was really good today,” Beshear admitted. “We know defense when we see it and this team definitely sized up.”

“We have suffocating defense,” Brazil said. “When we choose to not let the ball hit the floor it just doesn’t. I knew we have so many people that play ridiculous defense that when they make the choice to do it, it’s like, ‘Good luck getting a kill!’”
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After Dignan’s momentum-changing play, Branson led the rest of the way in that third set, winning 25-20 on a big Fisher swing.

Needing just one more set win to complete the upset, Branson stormed to a 5-1 lead to start the fourth. Stein had two kills and a block, in tandem with Fisher, to spark the Bulls. Branson also got a spark from senior middle Margaux Barber. Barber sat the first three sets after re-injuring a knee during warm-ups and showed tremendous courage just to be on the court, let alone contributing a kill and two blocks.

Palos Verdes was not giving up, however, and rallied to take the lead, 7-6, on DeMaria’s 20th kill of the match. Spirited defense by Lane and Rusich (with her knee?) helped the Sea Kings extend their lead to 10-7. Twice Brandon tied the set, including at 14-14 on Palfy’s ace; but the Bulls never found the lead again. Great swings from DeMaria, Beshear, and Rusich, and good work in all phases by Lane pushed Palos Verdes back to a comfortable margin, up 21-16.

Branson tried to rally in the end game, but sophomore DS Molly LaBreche would not allow it. She put on a passing and defending show for PV late in the 25-23 win, capped by Beshear’s softy swing.

The fifth set began and the intensity, which was palpable towards the end of the fourth, felt greater by a factor of 10. Both teams sold out from the first point to the last.

“I thought we played our hearts out,” Lynch said. “It could have gone either way in the fifth.”

DeMaria’s tip gave Palos Verdes the first point in the chase to 15. The Sea Kings scored again on a Branson hitting error and had chances to extend their lead one more but for that Branson defense. Lacy scored four to end a long rally and put the Bulls on the board.

A Rusich kill and DeMaria block made it 4-1 Palos Verdes. The adrenaline was rushing even on press row!

Fisher scored twice in succession out of a timeout to draw Branson within one. Rusich countered. Mallory LaBreche’s kill from the right side erased a PV hitting error, helping the Sea Kings maintain a two-point margin.

PV was called for being in the net. Beshear answered to make it 7-5 Sea Kings.

Snipes, who 10 months before suffered a complete break of her tibia and fibula, drilled the line to get Branson within one point again. PV showed its resilience, as Lane dug the ball out of the net to Tilles for the putaway. Then DeMaria sandwiched two kills around one from Tilles. Palos Verdes had that 12-8 lead before Branson started its comeback…

On the Branson sideline, Brazil thought, “If we lose I am so proud of what we’ve done because of the heart and the fight and the grittiness these girls showed.”

Branson would not lose. The Bulls got to 12-all and forced Palos Verdes into a timeout.

“At 12-all, we were talking about how amazing it was to be there,” Tusher said. “We were soaking up the environment. It’s so much fun when everyone is popping off [I think that’s lingo for doing well].  There wasn’t a hole in our game. We all lifted each other up. It was so much fun!”

“It was definitely the most high intensity we’ve seen all season,” Walsh said. “I think we handled it really well. I think we matched their energy. It just came down to those last few points and things didn’t go our way at the end.”

Fisher led Branson with 29 kills, 25 digs, and four blocks. Snipes had 16 kills, nine digs, and two blocks. Tusher contributed 53 assists and 20 digs. Stein produced nine kills and five blocks. Dignan and Whisenant combined for 29 digs.

It was a total team effort by a team that wasn’t great when the season began but was great when it ended.

“There were a lot of high expectations coming into the season,” Brazil explained. “I don’t think we handled that well. Once we made a commitment to change our habits, we picked up our intensity and focus in practices and executed on the things we needed to do in games. I constantly told them, ‘Change your habits or change your goals.’ I’m so happy I get to eat my words.”

DeMaria had 27 kills to lead four Sea Kings with 10 or more terminations. Beshear, Tilles, and Rusich teamed for 41 more. Lane had a ridiculous 59 assists and 24 digs. Walsh had an equally ridiculous 41 digs.
 
That’s the kind of match it was!

“This was the best team the school has ever had and the farthest the school has ever gone,” Lynch said. “Every game was tough in the regionals and they stepped up and beat some incredible teams. To accomplish more than any team in history of school says a lot.”