Upsets highlight South women's volleyball regionals; North sees 7 of top 8 seeds advance

Round 1 of the CCCAA Southern and Northern Regional Playoffs took place Tuesday night as 16 teams now remain in the postseason field. Here are capsule recaps of the Regional Playoff matches.

SOUTH REGIONALS

#1 IRVINE VALLEY d. #16 ORANGE COAST, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-21)
The state No. 1-ranked Lasers whipped their fellow Orange Empire opponent Pirates for the third time this season and stayed undefeated at 23-0 with the first round sweep. Olivia Aguilar led Irvine with 13 kills, 10 digs and 4 blocks while Taira Ka'awaloa had 10 kills and Alyssa Vortouni nine kills. OCC was led by Devyn Holland and Aubrey St. Laurent, who scored five kills each. Orange Coast won a Play-In Round match over #17 Mt. San Antonio on Saturday as Alibelle Pilimai pounded 11 kills and hit .647.
Irvine Valley 23-0, Orange Coast 18-9

#2 MIRACOSTA d. #15 PASADENA CITY, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16)
For the second time this year, the Spartans swept the Lancers, hitting an efficient .337 overall. Hayley Huntsman dished out 29 assists with nine kills and nine digs while Claire Kinder hit .429 with nine kills and three aces.  PCC advanced to the Final 16 with a sweep over #18 seed Ventura in the Play-In Round as Paige Clingaman had 10 kills. Clingaman scored 11 kills against MiraCosta, the PCAC North champions who are in the midst of an 18-match win streak.
MiraCosta 25-6, Pasadena City 18-10

#3 CANYONS d. #14 GOLDEN WEST, 3-1 (25-7, 21-25, 25-13, 25-17)       
Emily Burns blasted 24 kills and hit .434 and Rachel Perez dished out 51 assists as the Cougars advanced in four sets over the Rustlers. Caroline Page added 13 kills and 10 digs while Morgan Ferguson made eight blocks. Canyons was the only team in any of the state's 16 regional playoff matches to hold a team to single digits with its opening set win.
Canyons 23-5, Golden West 13-13

#13 SAN DIEGO CITY d. #4 CYPRESS, 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-22)
The Knights scored the state's biggest upset as the PCAC South Co-Champions upended the Chargers, the second place team from the Orange Empire, in four sets. SD City's Lyssette Serna ripped 17 kills with 21 digs and Bree Reid delivered 50 assists. Alyssa Dincoff added eight kills and 22 digs. For Cypress, Brianna Johnson tallied 22 kills and Kayla Owens 20 kills with 16 digs. Penina Wilder set 53 assists and served four aces.
San Diego City 22-3, Cypress 18-6

#5 PIERCE d. #12 MOORPARK, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 15-25, 27-25, 15-13)
The Brahmas were responsible for three of the Raiders' seven losses this season, including a marathon 5-setter in this regional. Pierce rebounded from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits and had to go extra points in set 4 before taking the 2-point win in the deciding fifth set. Shari Volpis drilled 18 kills and both Haley Rousselle and Cairo Harrell scored 13 kills. Julia Izquierdo added 17 digs and served four aces.
Pierce 23-7, Moorpark 12-7

#11 EL CAMINO d. #6 BAKERSFIELD, 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-21)
The Renegades can't seem to avoid facing the Warriors in the postseason and for the third season in a row El Camino eliminated them, this time in an upset sweep at Bakersfield. ECC won its ninth straight match and avenged an earlier season 5-set loss against the Renegades. Aiko Waters, Co-MVP of the South Coast Conference South Division, led ECC with 12 kills, 12 digs and three aces while Glorious Owens was a force at the net with six blocks. Brooke Horack scored 10 kills and Haley Sanchez 16 digs for Bakersfield.
El Camino 20-4, Bakersfield 19-6

#10 LONG BEACH CITY d. #7 SANTA BARBARA CITY, 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18)
Josannah Vazquez powered 19 kills and hit .545 as the Vikings joined fellow South Coast Conference Co-South Division champion El Camino as upset winners in the first round. LBCC downed the host Vaqueros in 4 sets to win its 18^th match in the last 19 contests. For SBCC, Kaylene Ureno notched 12 kills and Carolyn Andrulis added 10 kills, 14 digs and three aces.
Long Beach 18-4, Santa Barbara 21-7

#8 GROSSMONT d. #9 SADDLEBACK, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-19)
The Griffins hit an outstanding .380 as Khalia Jordan picked up a double-double on 12 kills and 10 digs to sweep the Gauchos. Alexcis Morris made nine kills without an error and Felicia Marshall twirled four aces. Antonette Rolda was one of the few brightspots for Saddleback with nine digs and 13 set assists. On Sept. 20 in a regular season match, Saddleback had swept Grossmont as the Griffins hit just .011 as a team, but Saturday's playoff was a complete reversal in both sets and the way Grossmont attacked.
Grossmont 21-6, Saddleback 19-9

NORTH REGIONALS

#1 CABRILLO d. #16 WEST VALLEY, 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-10)
Camryn Rocha put on a clinic with 14 kills and no errors in just 20 attempts to pace the North top-seeded Seahawks to a sweep over the Vikings. Kylie Kvam added 12 kills and four aces and Mari Molina distributed 40 assists for Cabrillo, now winners of 16 straight matches. WVC advanced to Round 1 with a 4-set win over #17 Sequoias in the Play-in Round. West Valley was led in that match by state kills average per set leader Mapuhola Sekona with 18 kills and 18 digs.
Records: Cabrillo 28-1, West Valley 17-11

#2 FEATHER RIVER d. #15 HARTNELL, 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-17, 28-26)
The Golden Eagles received big performances by Cyan Blackdeer with 18 kills and Michaela Ahlenslager with 15 to score a 4-set win over the Panthers. Precious Helekahi handed out 51 assists and Madison Howard reached a double-double on 11 kills and 16 digs for the Golden Valley Conference champions. Hartnell swept #18 Los Medanos in the Play-in Round behind 13 kills and four aces by Sam Shafer.
Feather River 25-5, Hartnell 18-11

#3 SIERRA d. #14 FOOTHILL, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-17)
The Big 8 champion Wolverines have won 22 of their last 23 and picked up their 12 consecutive victory in a sweep over the Owls. Sierra was paced by Maddy Meteer with 22 kills (.458) and Kapri Pelle, who hit .579 to score 12 kills with four blocks. Ryan Blackwood added 14 digs. It was the second time this season that Sierra swept Foothill.
Sierra 24-3, Foothill 14-16

#4 FRESNO CITY d. #13 SOLANO, 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 25-21)
The defending state champion Rams needed four sets to end one of the greatest seasons ever by a Bay Valley Conference team in the first-place Falcons. Solano had 17-match and 51-set win streaks snapped. For perennial Central Valley Conference champ Fresno, Makayla Cervantes was magnificent with 17 kills (.317), 24 digs, and a serving show with six aces. Katie Emmerling added 12 kills and Ally Cooper 27 assists. FCC is on a 12-match win streak. For Solano, Makayla Johnson scored 13 kills and Elyssa Rollins had 11 kills.
Fresno 24-5, Solano 22-6

#5 SAN JOAQUIN DELTA d. #12 GAVILAN, 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16)
The Mustangs rallied from a set down to beat the Rams in four sets. Delta, still hurting from
losing in the Big 8 title match v. Sierra to end the regular season, came out flat as Gavilan took set 1. From that point, Delta took control behind Big 8 MVP Amilya Thompson, who totaled 16 kills, 20 digs and served four aces. Mika Fithian did her part with six kills, 40 assists, five aces and 15 digs while Avery Martin was a defensive wizard on 25 digs (and three aces). For Gavilan, Evelyn Clonts scored nine kills, Haley Leifheit eight kills and Mikeila Banda 17 digs with four aces.
SJ Delta 22-4, Gavilan 18-8

#6 FOLSOM LAKE d. #11 CC SAN FRANCISCO, 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12)
The Falcons came back from 2-1 down to advance with a 5-set win over the Rams, a dangerous foe with their strong hitting. It was the third time this year that Folsom Lake trailed a match, 2-1, only to come back and win in five sets—the others coming against high seeds Feather River and Fresno City. Folsom Lake is led by Kylie Havorson. CCSF was paced by Zellia Quarters-Styles, who was second in the state in kills average.
Folsom Lake 23-4, San Francisco 18-9

#10 BUTTE d. #7 SANTA ROSA, 3-2 (28-26, 23-25, 18-25, 25-14, 15-6)
These two closely matched teams resulted in the only mild upset of the evening in the North region as the Roadrunners rallied to edge the Bear Cubs in five sets. It was also the second time the pair went 5 sets as SRJC won earlier in the year at the Delta Classic. Aggressive serving helped turn the match around this time for Butte as Timolin Kepon served a team-best five of its 13 aces overall. Kepon added 13 kills and 23 digs while Kristina Joyce made 41 assists, 15 digs and twirled three aces. Kaylee Shoemaker pounded 15 kills.
Butte 21-8, Santa Rosa 16-11

#8 DE ANZA d. #9 AMERICAN RIVER, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17)
The Dons dropped the first set, but roared back and beat the Beavers in four sets. De Anza, the co-Coast South champions, were led by a trio of hitters in Megan Cheng (14 kills), Ivy Johnson (14 kills) and Melissa Izquierdo (11 kills). Allison Pereira was also a factor with eight kills, 27 assists, 16 digs and three aces.
De Anza 20-4, American River 13-15

Round 2 Matchups for Saturday, Nov. 25
SOUTH
Grossmont at Irvine Valley
San Diego City at Pierce
El Camino at Canyons
Long Beach City at MiraCosta
NORTH
De Anza at Cabrillo
San Joaquin Delta at Fresno City
Folsom Lake at Sierra
Butte at Feather River

The Winners of Round 2 advance to the CCCAA State Championship Tournament final eight field on Dec. 2-3 at Solano College.

17—ROUND 1, WVB

Recaps by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID/CCCSIA
rmlewis@pasadena.edu