State Women's Volleyball Quarterfinal #4: Underdog Long Beach upsets North top seed Delta
S4 Long Beach City (20-9) d. N1 San Joaquin Delta (29-2), 3-1, 26-24, 16-25, 25-20, 26-24
SJ Delta finishes in a fifth place tie at state
FOLSOM -- The Cinderella story of the 2025 Long Beach City College Vikings added another chapter as the original South #14 seed (fourth for state re-seeding) shocked the North top seed San Joaquin Delta in four sets to end the fourth and final quarterfinal of the 3C2A Women's Volleyball Championships on Friday night.
Down 24-22 and facing a potential fifth set, Long Beach turned the tables with four straight points capped by a match-point block by South Coast Conference South Division MVP and 6-foot-1 middle blocker Rylee Tuaolo.
Long Beach now will face North #3 Feather River in the semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. South #1 San Diego Mesa and South #3 Santa Monica (an original fifth seed) will hook up in the other semifinal at 2 p.m.
The Vikings are now in the final four despite starting the season on a 6-match losing streak and at one point sitting with a 2-8 record. Since that time, the Vikings are a red-hot 18-1 including now four playoff wins.
Tuaolo finished with 11 kills (hit .364) and seven blocks (two solos) and she was helped by the play of lefty opposite Kyla Jones who scored 15 kills (.273) and Marissa Krebs with 10 kills. Tyreana Allen added 21 digs in a solid defensive effort.
"We learned a lot by reaching state last year so we felt while it was a gamble we should try to play as many of the state's top teams as we could early in the season," said LBCC head coach Tyler Jackson. "We weren't concerned about our record as much as we wanted to work on our weaknesses and by continuing to do that in practices it capitalized for us. Rylee we feel is an All-State type talent and she's been a team captain that her teammates have leaned on both on and off the court. She is a true leader."
For Delta, which saw a 21-match win streak snapped, First Team All-American outside hitter Hadlee Gray ripped 17 kills while Emily Yarbrough added 13 kills. All-State setter Paige Taylor totaled 30 assists, made 11 digs and had three blocks and Lisa Murga contributed five kills and four blocks.
"We prepared to try to get Long Beach out of system but they passed really well I think that was the difference for them," said Delta head coach Molly Hummel, the North Region Coach of the Year. "I'm proud of our sophomores who worked hard to get us back to state after we didn't get there last season."
Delta opened a 7-3 lead in the first set aided by a kill and block from Yarbrough. The Vikings roared back on a 9-1 run to go up 11-8 as Tuaolo scored three blocks (two solos) and knocked down two kills. Delta rallied and took an 20-17 advantage on a ace by Chase Silva, a paired block by Taylor and Murga, then kills by Murga and Yarbrough.
Long Beach answered to leap back ahead 21-20 with kills by Tuaolo, Krebs, and Alexandra Rosquin only to see the Mustangs take the lead again at 23-21 on a kill by Gray and Murga's slam at the net. LBCC then forced set point twice at 24-23 (kill by Rosquin) and 25-24 with a huge block from Tuaolo and Cynthia Hinojosa. An attack error gave the Vikings a heart-racing extra points set #1 win.
In set No. 2, Delta grabbed a 12-6 capped by a kill by Yarbrough. Back-to-back kills by Long Beach's Kyla Jones, one on a joust play, cut it to 15-13. Gray notched two kills while Delta's defense forced a series of Vikings errors that allowed the Mustangs to knot the match at 1-1 in sets.
In the third game, Tuaolo cannoned two kills and landed a hook off a deflected dig that landed near the backline for another point as the Vikings went ahead 12-7. Jones powered a drive down the line and Tuaolo aced a serve to make it 16-9. Delta responded with a 6-0 run aided by kills from Louise Oliveira and Yarbrough and a duo block by Murga/Yarbrough as the lead shrunk to one.
The resilient Vikings though separated themselves with a pair of Krebs bullets for kills and reached set point at 24-17. Delta fought off three set points but Tuaolo's attack rolled off the top of the net and dropped in to give LBCC a 2-1 sets lead.
In the fourth set, Delta trailed only 6-5, but again Long Beach went on a spirited run with consecutive sky-jump kills by Jones going up 12-6. After taking a 7-point advantage at 16-9, the Mustangs flew back with a 9-2 run including a kill and block by Gray that tied at 18-18. The teams traded two more ties to get it to 22-22. Gray used her skills to land two kills as Delta held set point at 24-22, but Long Beach completed the upset.
LBCC avenged a 4-set loss to Delta at the NorCal-SoCal Showcase on Aug. 30. The Vikings won a match at the state tourney for the first time since 2000 when they finished as state runner-up. Three South teams are left in the semifinals in an effort to try to unseat defending champ Feather River.
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA/3C2A State Tournament SID