Grossmont comeback falls short, Feather River Gott ticket to state final

Sydney Gott with the attack during Feather River's semifinals win over Grossmont on Saturday, photo by Richard Quinton.
Sydney Gott with the attack during Feather River's semifinals win over Grossmont on Saturday, photo by Richard Quinton.
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December 7, 2019

(CHULA VISTA)--The CCCAA Women's Volleyball State Championship tournament has featured exciting matches over the years and Saturday's first semifinal was no different as North #1 seed Feather River College grabbed a 2-0 sets lead and hung on despite a furious rally by South #2 Grossmont to win in five sets, 25-18, 28-26, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11. The Golden Eagles (34-2) make their first trip to a state final on Sunday.

Feather River's Sydney Gott came up huge by landing 14 kills, hitting .591 in just 22 attempts, while being a big part of the team's defense at the net, scoring five blocks. Natalie Thomas had her second straight double-digit match of the tourney with 12 kills and Lelaau Tuia scored 11 kills. Aurora Carnes was another factor at the net with four blocks as well as seven kills. 

All-American setter Mere Nagase continued her flashy, inspired play with 34 assists, seven kills, 10 digs and a solo block. All-American setter Kayla Joyce added 18 digs.

For Grossmont, Shaney Lipscomb, a bounceback from the University of Hawaii and considered by many to be the South region's best hitter, blasted 23 kills and added four blocks and three aces. Both Naomi Talisa Leilua (11 digs, three aces) and hometown player Carly Gonzalez each scored 11 kills. Libero Kortney Hitt tallied 19 digs and setter Haley Morton dished out 51 assists. 

In the fifth set, the teams were tied at 11-11 before FRC unleashed some powerful hits as Thomas and Gott ripped kills for a 13-11 lead. After a timeout, it was Thomas' turn to swing as she nailed two kills to cap the victory.

Grossmont assistant head coach Brooke Callahan, ironically, played as an All-State middle blocker in the last match between the two teams back in 2014 when the Griffins won in five sets in an elimination match at the state tournament.

"It went a little better for us that time," Callahan said of the '14 contest. "Feather River is a very physical team and you can't fall behind by two sets and expect to win. I think we turned the match around with our serve and pass which got our offense flowing. In the end, it's hard to defend knowing they have three hitters they can go to at any point. Our service errors hurt us too (16 overall.)"

Lipscomb powered eight of her kills in the third set as Grossmont ended FRC's streak of winning sets at 38. 

Feather River went on a 14-7 run to close out the first set. In set 2, the Golden Eagles led 8-3 and 17-11 but Grossmont would tie it at 24-24. A kill by Carnes made it 26-25 and two attack errors closed out the Feather River extra-point triumph. Grossmont would not quit and rallied thanks to Lipscomb powering eight of her kills in the third set as Grossmont ended FRC's streak of winning sets at 38. In the fourth set, the Griffins used kills by Lipscomb and Brooklyn Anderson to close out the 3-point win and send it to the fifth.

Gott, Carnes, Thomas, Nagase, and Colette Florentin were tenacious on the net block for Feather River, which prompted 35 attack errors by Grossmont. FRC hit .252 but the Griffins had more kills overall, 59-52.