Girls volleyball: Branson sweeps Foothill, sets up Open Division final against Marin Catholic
The best girls volleyball team in the North Coast Section resides in Marin. On Saturday, The Branson School and Marin Catholic will battle for that honor in the first NCS Open Division final.
Branson, the tournament’s top seed, shook off the rust from being off for 12 days to claim a 25-19, 25-14, 25-17 victory against No. 4 Foothill on Wednesday night.
“There definitely was rust at the start but we prefaced the game by acknowledging that was going to happen because it’s kind of inevitable when you have some time off,” Branson setter Celia Tolmie said. “What we try to do is make sure our play doesn’t dictate our energy, rather our energy dictates our play so we have a lot of trust and confidence in the hours we put in practicing.”
No. 2 seed Marin Catholic went the distance but outlasted No. 3 James Logan 25-23, 29-27, 18-25, 22-25, 15-8. The Bulls (21-4) and Wildcats (25-6) will meet for the fourth time this season in the Open final tentatively set at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dominican University. MC won the first meeting 2-0 at a tournament. Branson won the regular-season meeting in four sets then won the MCAL title game in three.
“Everyone on our team is so motivated,” Tolmie said. “We want to get that NCS Open Division title, particularly with this being the first year that it’s happening.”
Branson trailed 2-7 early in the first set against Foothill (26-9) but got a spark from libero Lauren Dignan, who played spectacular defense from the outset.
“When the best hitter on the other side of the net is giving it all they’ve got and Lauren is just sitting there and gobbles it up, it becomes demoralizing,” Branson coach Michelle Brazil said. “Obviously she’s not out there getting the big kills, but she’s taking away the big kills from their best hitter and that is just as — if not more — important than any other role on the court. She always does a great job and today was no different.”
Sophomore Anna Jacobs entered the game early and had her first of many strong service runs as Branson went ahead 10-8.
“Anna has a great, very consistent serve and I thought she did a really good job of not only getting her serve in consistently, but really pushing the other side and getting them out of system – just constantly never letting up, a relentless kind of pressure for their passing,” Brazil said. “When the passing is not there, the offense becomes very predictable and it makes your defense much easier to execute. It starts with the serve and that’s where Anna really stepped up and did a phenomenal job for us.”
The first set remained tight with Branson beginning to find its rhythm as Tolmie took turns setting for outside hitters Elena Fisher and Blake Cussen, who combined for 12 kills in the opening frame.
Branson secured a pivotal point when Foothill got off a big swing that Cussen was able to dig. The ball flew over the net, past all the defenders and hit the floor just inside the far corner of the court for a kill and a 21-18 Branson lead.
“It’s far more exciting when you have one of those random, crazy points because it kind of feels like the universe is working for you,” Tolmie said.
Branson won four of the next five points to claim the first set then started the second on a 6-1 surge that eventually ballooned into a 15-5 start.
Fisher kill for 24-19. Branson goes up 1-0 on the next point. #marinvolleyball pic.twitter.com/widFB8jGNs
— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 7, 2024
Foothill got off to a better start in the third, leading 7-4 at one point. Fisher reeled off three consecutive aces for an 8-7 lead then provided another crazy momentum point for a 15-9 lead. Cussen had another dig on a big swing by Foothill but the ball ricocheted hard off a hanging light above the court. Fisher got to the ball in time to improbably keep it up and the Bulls went on to claim the point on a Foothill hitting error.
Branson pulled away late in the set with kills by Ellie Corsello, Cussen, and Abby King before closing out the win with a block by Cussen for 24-17 followed by a kill by King.
King with the match winner. 3-0 Branson 25-17. #marinvolleyball pic.twitter.com/ZxEbMSRHGU
— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 7, 2024
Fisher had a team-high 14 kills, adding eight digs and five aces. Cussen had 13 kills and Ella Tsai added seven kills.
Dignan paced the Bulls with 15 digs and Lucy Tusher added 10. King had six blocks and Tolmie dished out 28 assists.
“Our team runs deep,” Tolmie said. “Our practices are very competitive. Everyone sees the same six to eight people every game but everyone that even doesn’t play is a phenomenal athlete. Our team, because we are so deep, we’re really well balanced on the court.”
Marin Catholic 3, James Logan 2
When MC needed to score some crucial points to close out the match in the fifth set, the Wildcats turned to outside hitter Krystal Rose Huff.
Huff came up with several big kills as No. 2 seed MC recovered from dropping the third and and fourth sets to secure a 25-23, 29-27, 18-25, 22-25, 15-8 home victory against No. 3 James Logan on Wednesday.
“Huff was a star in the fifth set,” MC coach Nick Honrada said. “We gave about 70% of the balls to her and she took on that role and took it to heart and was the reason why we got to score a lot of those points.”
MC also got crucial plays down the stretch from Sydney Ryssemus and Aubrey Marne.
“That fifth set, another reason we came out on top is kids that usually don’t play were in the game and they made some big points for us,” Honrada said. “Sydney had a big block later in the game and Aubrey picks up a ball that has been scored on the whole match to basically seal the win. It was a lot of our kids who don’t usually get their name called in those moments.”