MOUNTAIN VIEW — There’s more than one big showdown happening between St. Francis and St. Ignatius this week.
The one with all the fanfare happens tonight, when the No. 5 Lancers travel to San Francisco to face the No. 4 Wildcats in a pivotal West Catholic Athletic League showdown. But another important WCAL tilt was held on St. Francis’ Mountain View campus Thursday night.
No. 2 St. Francis, fresh off a sweep of Presentation but still licking its wounds after two consecutive losses to No. 1 Archbishop Mitty, applied another layer of feel-good salve against No. 6 SI. The Wildcats were close in every set, but St. Francis ultimately prevailed in a sweep, winning 25-22, 25-19, 25-23.
“We are such a young team, and since we lost so many players last year, people expected us to be the underdogs,” said SF junior middle hitter Ella Fulton. “We’ve worked so hard at using every single rep. We really want to prove ourselves, to show that we are still at the top. Just because we lost important players doesn’t mean we don’t have brand-new players coming in to represent the Lancers and St. Francis.”
SI didn’t look too far off the pace, but there’s a clear gap separating them from the top two. Playing both this week gave the Wildcats valuable experience as they look to close that margin in time for CCS.
“It’s the funnest part of the season,” said SI coach Saga Vae. “Getting the girls ready mentally, physically and just get hyped up to play the best teams in the state — not only in the league, but in the state. It gives them a challenge and gets them ready for playoffs. We got a little taste of what CCS is going to be like in two, three weeks.”
A CCS championship isn’t all or nothing, of course. But it is the unmistakable specter looming over early match either Mitty or St. Francis plays from here on out.
“It’s fun,” said SF coach Lake Merchen. “That’s probably the best way to sum it up, right? Playing really good teams tends to bring out the best in us. And when it doesn’t, then we learn a lot from it. When it does bring out the best in us, like I think it did tonight, it’s a lot of fun to be a part of. A lot of fun to see the kids work really hard and find success in different ways.”
More girls volleyball
Cupertino 3, Fremont-Sunnyvale 1
Cupertino pulled out a four-set win (26-28, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22) in this Santa Clara Valley – El Camino matchup. Natalie Escalera led Fremont in kills with attempts from both the front and back row and led the Firebirds in serve-receive passing. Zoe Shie led Fremont in digs and defensive hustle. Fremont recovered from a 24-19 deficit to win the first set in extra points. “FHS had great hustle and played consistently all four sets,” said Firebirds coach Michelle Wagner.
Saratoga 3, MacDonald 0
The Falcons shut out MacDonald in Santa Clara Valley – El Camino action. Emmy Pak made her setting debut, freshman Chloe Zeng led Saratoga with 12 kills and Shreya Raghuvanshi had three blocks. “We have improved to second place in our league, a great improvement from last season’s lackluster performance,” said Saratoga coach Lori Gragnola. “We have a great starting team and good depth on the bench. Our ability to fight hard in every rally defensively and smart play at the net have helped us improve to our 9-2 record in league.”
Gunderson 3, James Lick 0
Gunderson made the most of its senior night, picking up an appetizing 25-12, 25-10, 25-7 win over Lick and improving to 8-0 in league play. Senior Jordan Matuk had 10 kills, nine digs and an ace. “My team did an amazing job,” said Gunderson coach Tori Zuniga. “We always say our greatest strength is together for and with each other, and our performance on the court has just grown stronger, with our energy and scores reflecting that.”
Boys water polo
No. 2 De La Salle 12, Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles) 9
De La Salle picked up a big win against SoCal power Harvard-Westlake at the North-South Showcase held at Sacred Heart Prep. Junior goalie Will Corr made 12 saves for the Spartans and added a full-court goal.
Alameda 12, Piedmont 9
Junior Zach Dortch led Alameda with five goals, two assists, four steals and two blocked shots as Alameda picked up a road win in league play. Sophomore Sebastian Barber added seven saves and two assists.
San Ramon Valley 22, Granada 6
The SRV boys had little trouble with Granada on Thursday. “Every player on our team played meaningful minutes,” said SRV coach Anthony Tovani. The Wolves’ array of scorers was led by senior Donovan Swann with three goals. Sophomore Ronan Bugbee and senior Stellen Karkazis split time in goal, with Bugbee collecting five saves and Karkazis compiling seven.
Girls water polo
San Ramon Valley 18, Granada 1
SRV routed Granada in this EBAL Valley matchup. Daphne Mundelius led the way for the Wolves with three goals, three assists, three steals, two ejections earned and a field block. Olivia Anderson added three goals, two assists, two steals and one ejection drawn.
Boys cross country
The Bishop O’Dowd boys cross country team ranks No. 1 in NCS Division IV after a meet held on Wednesday at Hayward High, this year’s NCS championship course. Juinor Sebastian Taylor ran a time of 15:12 on the three-mile route, setting a new school record. It was the second-fastest NCS time run on the course this season. The Dragons are the odds-on favorite to win the West Alameda County Conference championship, winning both league meets held thus far by 50 points.
Girls flag football
San Leandro 12, Piedmont 6
San Leandro picked up a big win in league play by doubling up Piedmont at home. “Our team showed incredible heart and determination tonight,” said Pirates coach Sandra Hernandez. “We asked them to give it their all and leave everything on the field, and they delivered. The girls played with intensity and aggression, pushing themselves to their limits and never backing down. It was high intensity from the beginning to the end.” San Leandro’s offense was led by quarterback captain Alex Forsberg. Abigail Rodgers had a crucial interception to set up a Pirates score. Captains Rachel Emnace and Bella Hernandez made crucial plays down the stretch to keep Piedmont out of the end zone and enable San Leandro to emerge with the victory.
Girls tennis
Carlmont 7, San Mateo 0
Carlmont had no trouble with San Mateo on Thursday afternoon, dropping just three games across four singles matches. Chloe Khachadourian (6-0, 6-0); Megan Bence (6-0, 6-2); Zoe Hendricks (6-0, 6-0) and Amelie Du Chau (6-1, 6-0) picked up singles victories for the Scots. Carlmont’s pairings of Ashwika Narayan/Radhika Agrawal (6-3, 7-5); Avani Dixit/Chloe Rui (6-0, 6-0) and Bhavya Raman/Haeley Kwok (7-5, 6-1) claimed doubles wins. The Scots are undefeated in league play at 12-0 and are 14-0 overall.
Girls golf
The Irvington girls golf team placed fourth at the Mission Valley Athletic League final meet, compiling a total of 268 points. Mission San Jose (217), American (252) and Moreau Catholic (254) had the top three team scores, with Washington-Fremont (287) and Newark Memorial (294) also competing. Elsa Hsieh and Zainab Mehdi of Irvington made the all-league team by scoring in the top 10. “Job well done by all,” said Irvington AD Jennifer Gribben.
Girls field hockey
Prospect 4, Leland 0
Prospect improved to 5-0 in league play and 10-4 overall with a shutout win. Senior midfielder Lucille Ruegemer scored two goals, the first assisted by senior midfielder Anbrielle Mangoba and junior forward Keegan Gustlin. Senior captain and defender Sadie Slaughter made the score 2-0 Panthers in the second quarter off passes from her fellow captains, defender Katie Coleman and forward Dani Rauscher, on a short corner play designed for Slaughter. Ruegemer scored again in the third quarter off assists from senior midfielder Jaydee Jaroenratjaroon and Gustlin. Rauscher rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter off a nice assist from Mangoba.
