Girls volleyball: Tam takes down Terra Linda in MCAL playoffs
After Terra Linda hung around deep into the first set, players on the Tam High girls volleyball team decided it was time to turn things up a notch during their MCAL first-round playoff tilt on Tuesday night.
“After the first set we kind of got together and realized that we needed to step on the gas more because we were really bringing it as a team with energy,” Tam outside hitter Natalia Clifford said. “We decided we needed to do that if we wanted to really dominate as a team, especially because this is one of our last games together.”
Clifford and fellow outside hitter Natalie Stanford combined for 30 kills on the night as Tam got better as the match went on in a 25-19, 25-13, 25-9 victory.
“We were able to lock in for the second and third set and really play our game and just focus and go for everything,” Stanford said.
Stanford (team-high 16 kills) and Clifford (14 kills) took turns stepping up in key moments for Tam (22-9).
Stanford strung together three consecutive kills in the first set to push Tam’s lead to 21-14. Clifford followed with an ace but TL (20-12) put together one last flurry to keep things interesting.
An ace by Josie Campo pulled TL within 22-18 but Stanford produced a kill and an ace in the final four points to help Tam grab a 1-0 lead.
It was Clifford’s turn to take over in the middle of the second set, coming up with four kills during a nine-point stretch that saw Tam extend its lead from 9-8 to 17-9.
“Natalia almost always gets stronger as the match goes along,” Tam coach Ray Karter said. “It happens in lots of matches. I think that’s a strength of hers and it’s a reason we often do well — like kind of going back and forth, back and forth, and suddenly she’ll get three or four kills in a row and she puts games out of reach.”
Stanford came up with three kills in a row to make it 22-12 and Tam claimed the set on a hitting error by TL for a 2-0 lead.
Tam managed to get separation again early in the third set with Stanford and Clifford producing four consecutive kills for a 9-4 lead. They reeled off more four kills during a seven-point stretch for a 16-6 advantage.
While Karter was thrilled with Stanford’s kill tally, he also noted her defense as an outside hitter who never leaves the court.
“People underrate (Stanford) but that was seven digs,” Karter said. “She looks a little bit funky when she digs but her defense is a big part of what we do well. Balls that would often drop with a big-hitting player who’s playing all the way round, she gets to, and I think that’s a big part of what Natalie contributes that is underrated.”
Clifford, who also remains on the court full-time, added nine digs. Libero Jade Curtin-Savala had a team-high 11 digs.
“Jade just digs everything,” Karter said. “She had 11 digs, led the team in digs tonight. Sometimes her digs look easier than they are and so she gets taken for granted but she really makes a difference getting balls up that would drop on some other teams.”
TL was still hustling, down 23-9 in the third. Tam setter Emmeline Sandgren (35 assists, four kills, two blocks) caught TL off guard with a setter dump but the Trojans scrambled defensively, recovered and got the ball back over the net only for Clifford to end the point with her 14th kill of the night. Sandgren had the final kill as Tam secured the win and a date with top-seeded Branson in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Tam also got a key contribution from middle blocker Reese Murphy, who had five kills and a pair of blocks.
“(Murphy) doesn’t get set as much – middles never get set as much – but she did a great job closing the block,” Karter said. “When she got set, she put it away. She had some really important kills and made some really good decisions with the sets. Those five kills made a difference. They all came at important times and the block was big. It just made it harder for TL to run offense which gave us the advantage.”
Campo paced TL with eight kills and added 10 digs. Mia Patino had a team-high 13 digs and Kayli Chen added six kills.
TL is eligible for the North Coast Section playoffs, which begin next week. The Trojans could find themselves in Division II of the new-look postseason, which aims to group teams based on competitive equity rather than school size. The NCS seeding meeting takes place on Sunday.
Around the county
Third-seeded Redwood rolled to a 25-11, 25-6, 25-5 victory against No. 6 San Marin (23-13) in the other first-round matchup. The Giants advance to Wednesday’s semifinal against No. 2 Marin Catholic.
San Marin is also expected to be selected for next week’s section playoffs.