Hi! Buckle up, because The Notebook, our Friday weekly look at girls volleyball throughout the state of California, is coming at ya!
A little aloha puts Otay Ranch into state top 25
Otay Ranch went to the Big Island last week to participate in the 24-team Hawaii Labor Day Classic, hosted by Kamehameha Hawaii, and went from a top 25 team in the CIF State’s South Region rankings to No. 20 in the entire state this week, thanks to an 8-2 showing that included defeating Campbell Hall, No. 16 in last week’s state top 25, for the title.
Iolani, the defending Hawaii 4A champion was the top seed and played like it through two pools and one match. But the Raiders lost in the semifinals to Otay Ranch after having previously defeated the Mustangs one day earlier.
“I’m pretty sure they were very confident since they had already beaten us before,” said coach Michael Pandaan.
The match went to three sets.
Said Pandaan, before the final set: “I told the girls, ‘We have nothing to lose if we lose to this team, but if we win you will have beaten the state champions and one of the best teams in Hawaii.’”
Otay Ranch jumped to a big lead in the third and Iolani could not recover.
Campbell Hall, which knocked last week’s No. 14, Alemany, from the unbeaten ranks, in the quarterfinals, defeated the host school in the other semifinal, creating an all-Golden State battle for the title.
Playing great defense, led by liberos Karina Garcia and Olivia Lorenzana, who were amazing over three days; Otay Ranch won Game 1. Campbell Hall was relentless and took the second set handily, 25-19.
In the third set, Pandaan instructed his setters to push the ball fast to the pins and let their middles decide who they had to block against.
“My three pin hitters are all very fast,” Pandaan said. “We established that and went on a serving run and won the set 15-9.”
Pandaan said that outsides Ximena Cordero and Dayiah McFadden and RS Andrea Torres all had highlight moments in the win.
Also new to this week’s top 25…
…is Marin Catholic. Last Thursday, the Wildcats (7-2) rallied from down two sets to one to defeat state-ranked Sacred Heart Prep in five, 19-17 in the deciding set. Marin Catholic is led by first-year head coach Josh Jung, who two years ago was boss man at Lowell of San Francisco. The Wildcats have lost only to No. 10 Saint Francis of Mountain View and No. 19 Branson so far this season.
With two new entrants, two had to go. Sacred Heart Prep was one. Campbell Hall was the other. Both could easily have stayed in and will likely find their way in again before the year is done.
New to the Region rankings…
The three regions welcomed a total of five teams this week, as there wasn’t nearly as much turmoil around the state this week as there was one week ago.
In the South, West Ranch (9-1), which has lost only to Campbell Hall, entered at No. 22 after defeating previously unbeaten Saugus. Bishop’s of La Jolla also made the list. The Knights (10-2) have lost only to state-ranked teams and handed Academy of Our Lady of Peace its first defeat of the season on Tuesday.
In the Central, Harbor of Santa Cruz ducked back in at No. 25 after a 5-2 week that included a win over former Region No. 4 Salinas. The Pirates have five losses on the year, all to state- or region-ranked teams.
In the North, the new teams are Windsor and Rio Americano. The highlight of Windsor’s week was splitting matches with North Region No. 10 Christian Brothers. Rio (15-2) was pulled from the rankings last week due to too many teams, too few spots, but went 9-0 last week to earn its way back in.
Sunny times at Sunny Hills
Sunny Hills of Fullerton won the Varsity OC Invitational on Saturday, behind the dominant play of senior Kayla Taylor and strong support from freshmen Olivia Urias and Hannah Oh.
The bigger story, however, is that four-year varsity player, 5-7 senior middle Noor Francisco, played in four of the team’s five matches.
Francisco was told that a knee injury would keep her off the court for her senior year. Indeed, she was told by doctors not to walk because the knee lacked stability. A few weeks ago, she had the coaches and players in tears sharing the news of her diagnosis. One week later, with her doctor’s permission, she put down the crutches, got back on the court, and practiced with the team. On Saturday, she saw her first action of the year and played, recording 10 kills, six digs, and two blocks in four matches.
“Noor is such a determined individual,” said coach Amanda Donaldson. “She can put her mind to anything and she is thrilled to be able to help her beloved teammates this season chase after a league title. After three previous years on varsity grinding day in and day out, we are all overjoyed to see that her senior season won’t be taken away from this kid who has fought so hard to get here.”
News and notes…
Standout middle Jenna Hanes exploded for 29 kills on Wednesday as state No. 3 Cathedral Catholic rallied to edge No. 7 Torrey Pines. The loss was the first of 2023 for the Falcons…
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St. Mary's of Stockton and Colorado's Valor Christian got together for this group shot after the championship match at the High Sierra
Colorado power Valor Christian won the 24-team High Sierra Tournament in Reno on Saturday, but state No. 14 St. Mary’s of Stockton finished as runner-up. Valor Christian, on a 38-match unbeaten streak, is coached by Jayne McHugh, who once was head coach both at University of the Pacific in Stockton and at St. Mary’s.
“The best part was hugging young ladies that I taught in Middle School!” McHugh exclaimed about the reunion of sorts.
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Palos Verdes (7-2 and No. 15 statewide) has been a surprise team in 2023 after graduating its top setter and defender, losing an all-world outside hitter, and having its coach retire from a team that reached the state Div. I championship match a year ago.
“Our team success is due to having such strong leadership,” said coach Lacey Minzlaff. “Kendall Beshear and the Labreche twins have stepped up so much already this season. Daniela Rusich is finally back after an injury so we are looking forward to her middle presence again.”
PV plays in the Dave Mohs Tournament this weekend. Mater Dei and Cathedral Catholic are the top seeds in the talent-filled 16-team Division I tournament. Sunny Hills is first choice in the Div. II tournament.
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Lulu Hoenninger returned to play for Foothill of Pleasanton on Friday versus Campolindo for the first time since suffering a torn ACL during last year's North Coast Section versus San Ramon Valley. She had three kills and one block in that match and four kills and two blocks in the Falcons’ next win over San Ramon Valley.
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Santa Cruz is on a seven-match winning streak after winning the Nor-Cal Invitational on Saturday
Santa Cruz went 5-0 on Saturday to win the Nor-Cal Invitational. Sophomore OH Natalie Monroe led the way with 42 kills. Antonia Wilson contributed 94 assists.
“We're still working out the kinks,” said coach Lina Manley Diaz. “We will have a good idea of where we stand after the league games coming up in the next few weeks.”
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Natalie Monroe (sophomore outside hitter) led the team in attacks with 42 kills for the day and Antonia Wilson (senior setter) had 94 assists total.
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Coalinga head coach Kolbe Gillette is sporting a new look after his Horned Toad team met its fundraising goal. Don’t worry coach. It grows back.
Coalinga has started the fall season 3-1 after a 12-16-1 year a season ago.
College-Bound!
In this space, we list those players, playing California high school volleyball in the current senior class and younger, who have made a commitment to attend a college or university of their choice and play volleyball. To date, we have 102 such players. Congrats! That’s a big number, but surely there are more! Please email jtawa@cifstate.org to add players to the list, using the format you see below, or to make any corrections.
Tea Abischer, 5-10 Sr. MB, San Luis Obispo – UC Davis (Beach)
Maya Baker, 5-9 Jr. S, Archbishop Mitty – Notre Dame
Jessie Bates, 5-11 Sr. S/RS, JSerra – UC Irvine
Paige Bennett, 6-0 Sr. OH, Foothill (Pleasanton) -- Winthrop
Kendall Beshear, 5-11 Sr. OH, Palos Verdes – Cal Poly SLO
Fallyn Blotzer, 6-1 Jr. OH, Santiago (Corona) -- Cincinnati
Laela Burgess, 5-7 Jr. S, San Luis Obispo - UC Davis
Katrina Catalan, 5-8 Sr. S, Vista Murrieta -- UCSB
Malyssa Cawa, 5-6 Sr. libero, Mater Dei -- Stanford
Isabel Clark, 6-0 Sr. OH, Mater Dei -- USD
Madison Clark, 6-0 Sr. MB, Redondo Union – UC Riverside
Addison Collum, 5-11 Sr. OH, Kennedy (La Palma) – Arkansas State
Katelyn Cook, 5-10 Sr. OH, Archbishop Mitty -- Fairfield
Ximena Cordero, 5-10 Sr. OH, Otay Ranch – UC Davis
Dakota Conway, 5-8 Sr. DS, Cathedral Catholic -- FIU
Amiah Cornejo, 5-10 Sr. OH, University Prep (Redding) – Concordia-Irvine
Erin Curtis, 6-0 Sr. OH, Saint Francis (Mountain View) – North Carolina
Taylor Deckert, 5-9 Sr. libero, Mira Costa -- USC
Gabby Destler, 6-1 Sr. OH, Marymount – Loyola Marymount
Kate Duffey, 6-0 Sr. S, Ventura – UCLA
Niki Egan, 5-8 Sr. DS, Cathedral Catholic – Washington (Beach)
Jade Epps, 6-0 Sr. OH, Lakewood – San Jose State
Kate Fagundes, 5-5 Sr. libero, Oak Ridge – Vanguard University
Kyla Firestone, 5-8 Sr. S, Alemany -- Loyola Marymount University
Elena Fisher, 5-11 Jr. OH, Branson – Stanford (Beach)
Helena Foord, 5-10 Sr. OH, South Pasadena -- NYU
Reese Fraser, 5-10 Sr. S, Archie Williams – UC Davis (Beach)
Meghan Freck, 5-7 Sr. S/DS, Huntington Beach – UC Davis (Beach)
Charlie Fuerbringer, 5-11 Sr. S, Mira Costa – Wisconsin
Jenna Garner, 6-0 Sr. OH, South Pasadena -- Penn
Cymarah Gordon, 6-1 Sr. RS, Mater Dei -- Michigan
Gwen Grigsby, 5-3 Sr. libero, Harbor – Cal State Bakersfield (Beach)
Jenna Hanes, 6-3 Sr. MB, Cathedral Catholic -- Michigan
Brooke Hansen, 6-0 Sr. S/RS, Etiwanda – Cal Poly SLO
Cleo Hardin, 6-3 Sr. RS, Menlo – Yale
Victoria Henkel, 6-0 Sr. OH, Redondo Union – LSU (Beach)
Kaia Herweg, 5-8 Sr. S/OH, Los Alamitos – Grand Canyon
Abby Hoybjerg, 6-2 Sr. MB, Oak Ridge – BYU
Mikayla Hsieh, 510 Sr. S/RS, Flintridge Sacred Heart – Pomona-Pitzer
Keely Hummel, 5-10 Sr. S, St. Mary’s (Stockton) – Fresno State
Audrey Hyde, 5-10 Sr. RS/S, Redwood (Visalia) – Westmont College
Chloe Hynes, 6-1 Sr. RS, Mira Costa -- NYU
Kayla Johnson, 5-11 Sr. OH, Pleasant Valley – Utah (Beach)
Madison Johnson, 6-3 Jr. OH, Chaparral -- UCSD
Tatum Johnson, 6-0 Sr. MB, JSerra -- Colorado
Sadie Jeffrey, 6-0 Sr. OH, Santa Cruz – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Julia Kakkis, 6-0 Sr. S/RS, Mater Dei -- Brown
Charlotte Kelly, 6-3 Jr. MB, Amador Valley – Cal Poly SLO
Brooklyn Kostoff, 5-7 Sr. S, Santa Margarita Catholic – Azusa Pacific
Amiya Kuchibhotia, 6-1 Sr. MB, Archbishop Mitty -- NYU
Mallory Labreche, 5-11 Jr. RS. Palos Verdes – UCLA (Beach)
Molly Labreche, 5-7 Jr. libero, Palos Verdes – LSU (Beach)
Hayley LaFontaine, 6-0 Sr. OH, Huntington Beach – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Quinn Loper, 6-1 Jr. OH, San Clemente -- USC
Lauren Lynch, 5-6 Jr. libero, Sierra Canyon – San Diego
Isabella Marrero, 5-6 Sr. libero, Campbell Hall - American University
Kate Martin, 5-10 Sr. OH, Marymount -- UCSB
Trixie McMillin, 5-6 Sr. libero, Mira Costa – Cal
Grace Mcqoid, 6-0 Sr. OH, Foothill (Palo Cedro) – Vanguard University
Mila Mijailovic, 5-10 Sr. OH/DS, Campbell Hall – Yale
Elon Milroy, 6-0 Sr. MB, Los Alamitos – San Jose State (Beach)
Ayva Moi, 5-11 Jr. RS, Cathedral Catholic – Hawaii (Beach)
Althea Morris, 5-9 Jr. S, Campbell Hall – St. Edward’s University
Sadie Moore, 5-11 Sr. RS, Pleasant Valley – Arizona (Beach)
Noa Nuez, 5-8 Sr. libero, Los Alamitos – Georgia State (Beach)
Manaia Ogbechie, 6-3 Jr. MB Oaks Christian -- Northwestern
Ayva Ostovar, 5-6 Jr.. S, Mater Dei -- UCSB
Kennedy Osunsanmi, 6-2 Sr. RS, West Ranch – UCLA
Malia Parsons, 5-9 Sr. libero/OH, Tamalpais – St. Olaf College
McKenzie Parsons, 6-2 Sr. MB, Poway -- Cornell
Summer Pederson, 5-7 Sr. libero, Santa Cruz – Concordia- Irvine
Taylor Ponchak, 6-2 Jr. RS, Huntington Beach – Stanford (Beach)
Faith Rabb-Patterson, 6-2 Sr. MB, Christian Brothers – UC Davis
Danica Rach, 6-2 Sr. OH, Sierra Canyon -- Boston College
Mauriana Rayford, 5-9 Sr. OH, Chaparral – Lamar University
Charlotte Reff, 5-11 Sr. S, Buckley School – NYU
Kiki Remensperger, 5-9 Sr. S, Poway – South Carolina (Beach)
Amanda Saeger, 5-11 Sr. S, Cathedral Catholic – DePaul
Tmukisa Sagiao, 5-9 Sr. RS, Helix Charter – Cal State San Bernardino
Katie Salonga, 5-7 Sr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – Colorado
Bryn Shankle, 6-4 Sr. MB, Mira Costa -- TCU
Reagan Shields, 5-10 Sr. OH, Santa Margarita Catholic – Oregon State
Sadie Snipes, 6-0 Sr. OH, Branson – Santa Clara (Beach)
Dani Sparks, 5-7 Sr. S, Huntington Beach – Cal Poly SLO (Beach)
Birdie Stone, 5-11 Sr. OH, San Juan Hills -- Montana
Cayla Sutton, 5-10 Jr. RS, Clovis North -- Stetson University (Beach)
Zaria Thornton, 6-0 Sr. MB, Lakewood – Oregon State
Anaya Thrower, 6-4 Sr. OH, Vanden -- Oregon
Taylor Treahy, 6-1 Sr. RS, Sierra Canyon -- George Washington
Madison Triplett, 5-9 Sr. OH, El Capitan (Lakeside) -- UCSB
Victoria Turner, 5-7 Sr. S, Beckman -- UCSD
Logan Tusher, 5-11 Sr. S, Branson - Stanford (Beach)
Eliana Urzua, 6-3 Jr. OH, Bishop Diego -- UCLA
Miliani Villareal, 5-9 Sr. libero, Vista Murrieta – Sacred Heart University
Madeline Way, 6-2 Sr. MB, Sierra Canyon -- Hawaii
Elle Weaver, 5-10 Sr. OH, Oak Ridge -- Brown
Sofia Williams, 5-9 Sr. OH, San Clemente -- Yale
Taylor Williams, 6-2 Sr. OH, Saint Francis (Mountain View) -- Duke
Sophia Winter, 5-10 Sr. RS, Pleasant Valley – Arizona (Beach)
Taylor Yu, 6-0 Sr. S, Temple City -- Stanford
Ava Zamora, 5-10 Jr. S/RS, Westview – Stony Brook
Ashby Zubchevich, 6-0 Jr. OH, La Canada -- Duke
Be back next week with more news and notes on volleyball in the Golden State…