PALO ALTO — There is no more unfinished business left for St. Francis volleyball in the Central Coast Section.
The Lancers came up just short in the CCS Open Division final last season. But not on Saturday night at Palo Alto High School.
Second-seeded St. Francis defeated fourth-seeded St. Ignatius 26-24, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22 in one of the more epic four-set volleyball matches you will ever see.
The Lancers’ reward after such a hard-fought match? The well-earned spoils of their long-coveted CCS title.
“It was definitely a roller coaster, but it was one that was totally worth it in the end,” said senior Grace Gowdy, who posted a near double-double with a team-leading 17 kills and nine digs. “We had the ups, we had the downs. But in the end, we came together. We played as a team, we trusted each other and we worked hard.”
The matchup featured wild momentum swings in the first three sets. In the first, St. Francis (28-5) jumped out to a 9-5 lead, then quickly found itself down 16-12.
SI (22-13) led 24-21 late in the opening set but squandered three consecutive set points. The Lancers finished the first set on a 5-0 run to take the early 1-0 lead.
“It went just about as we expected it to go,” said St. Francis coach Lake Merchen. “We knew that they were going to play as hard as they could, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into in this match.”
The second set featured a 9-5 advantage in favor of SI, but things flipped quickly in St. Francis’ direction. The Lancers dominated the remainder of the frame, finishing it on a 20-4 run.
“The urgency went down a little bit,” said SI coach Saga Vae. “But you choose, ‘Do you want 20 more minutes of this game when you’re enjoying this crowd and being on this stage? Show some heart and put on a show.’”
The Wildcats responded to Vae’s message, jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the third set and holding off another St. Francis surge to get on the board.
But the Lancers weren’t going to let SI do it again. In a fourth set that was within five points throughout, St. Francis emerged with the three-point win.
“It honestly means the world,” Gowdy said. “Going to the CCS championship last year and not being able to finish was obviously hard. Being able to come back this year, being on top, coming off the court with our chins up was such an amazing feeling.”
Most outside observers anticipated a rematch between St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty, the top seed in the bracket and the favorite to repeat as CCS champs. Mitty had gone 4-1 against SI and the Lancers entering the CCS tournament, with the only loss an early-season four-setter in Mountain View.
But St. Ignatius pulled off a stunner on Wednesday night, rallying from two sets down to earn a 14-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 16-14 reverse sweep.
SI had not beaten Mitty, which held a 14-12 lead in the fifth set, since 2018. The Wildcats had lost 13 consecutive matches to the Monarchs and had gone 2-35 in head-to-head competition since 2006.
“The program is definitely changing,” said Vae, who is in his third season in charge at SI. “The mindset of this program is changing, so bigger things are coming. So WCAL, watch out.”
The future may one day be covered in SI red and blue. But this year’s CCS trophy is cloaked in Lancer brown and gold.
– Christian Babcock
CCS Division III
No. 1 Sacred Heart Cathedral 3, No. 3 Soquel 0
SHC cruised to the section’s Division III title, beating Soquel 25-15 in all three sets.
Livy Tangaan and Sofie Daters each had nine kills to propel the Fightin’ Irish to its 11th CCS crown. Tangaan also led SHC with 18 digs while Madi Mullins had 12.
Senior setter Doris Cheung had 16 assists and freshman Caira Tasi led SHC had seven blocks.
The San Francisco school will be looking for its second state title in school history. SHC lost in the Division II state title game last season against SoCal power Campbell Hall.
– Nathan Canilao
NCS Division I
No. 3 Tamalpais 3, No. 4 Campolindo 1
Campolindo fought hard, but it wasn’t enough to beat Tamalpais on the road in front of a packed gym.
Despite a strong effort in the third and fourth sets, Campolindo fell to Tamalpais 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25.
The Cougars fell behind early, losing the first set in dominant fashion.
But their attack found its groove in the third set.
Campolindo built a 20-13 lead in third, but a strong comeback from Tamalpais closed the Cougar lead to just 24-23 before the Cougars pulled away.
Campolindo started the fourth set similarly, getting an early 10-4 lead. But the Red Tailed Hawks flipped the script and went on a 10-4 run of their own to take a one-point lead.
The teams went tit-for-tat throughout the remainder of the set, but Tamalpais held on to take a two-point set win and the NCS Division I crown.
Aveya Stone unofficially had 28 kills, a block and a serving ace to lead Campolindo.
– Nathan Canilao
NCS Division II
Head-Royce 3, University-San Francisco 0
Oakland’s Head-Royce won back-to-back section titles, this time sweeping University 25-17, 25-22, 25-21.
The Jayhawks have been dominant all year with a current record of 30-4 and add their third section title in school history.
Head-Royce defeated Justin-Siena in last year’s Division IV final.
– Nathan Canilao
NCS Division III
St. Joseph Notre Dame 3, Bethel 0
The Alameda school won its first ever section championship, sweeping Vallejo’s Bethel High.
St. Joseph’s will look to see where it will place in the NorCal playoffs with a 29-6, 10-2 record.
– Nathan Canilao
