Girls volleyball: Tam tops Campolindo for Division I title
The Tam High girls volleyball team slowed down one of the top outside hitters in the Bay Area on Saturday night to claim its second-straight North Coast Section championship.
Knowing full well that Campolindo’s Aveya Stone is a force to be reckoned with, the Red-tailed Hawks threw everything they had at the visiting Cougars for a 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 victory in the Division I final.
Tam (26-10), the No. 3 seed in D-I, won the Division III championship last season for its first NCS title in program history. The Red-tailed Hawks backed that up with another section banner two divisions higher against fourth-seeded Campolindo (27-9) and the Cal Poly-bound Stone.
“She’s so good,” Tam coach Ray Karter said of Stone. “No. 11 is a giant talent. Not enough credit goes to our blockers. We knew she was good and we had to slow her down a little bit. San Ramon Valley couldn’t stop her at all in the semifinals and we could stop her a little.”
Tam’s own senior star Natalia Clifford countered with 25 kills. Junior Natalie Stanford had 14 kills and five digs. Senior Reece Murphy led the Hawks with seven blocks and added three kills.
In the neck-and-neck fourth game, Campolindo got an ace from Cassidy Woo to tie the score at 23-23. Stanford then unleashed back-to-back kills that sealed the Hawks’ title.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Clifford, who served for match point. “When Natalie hit that ball and it hit the ground, it’s an unmatched feeling — nothing can top it.”
The Hawks, who have won 22 straight home matches dating to last season, advance to the CIF Northern California tournament for the second straight season. Brackets and seeds will be announced on Sunday, with action starting on Tuesday.
Tam’s rise to NCS prominence is hardly surprising despite finishing fourth in the very tough MCAL. The Hawks had reached the NCS semifinals two straight years before back-to-back section titles.
Karter says there’s no question that this year’s championship is sweeter.
“First of all, it’s hard to repeat,” said Karter. “Second of all, we graduated five really important seniors from last year’s team so we had to adjust. Third of all, it’s D-I and any NCS championship is amazing. But winning the D-I championship is just really special.”
The Hawks had swept their opponents in their three previous NCS matches, but finally dropped a set in the third game against the Cougars. Tam trailed by as much as 20-13 before pulling to within a point three times late in the game. Every time they got close Stone nailed a kill, including game point.
Things didn’t start that great for the Hawks in the fourth game when they were trailing 12-6. Murphy got a key block to pull Tam within 13-9 and an ace by Jade Curtin-Savala made it 13-10 as the Hawks began to steal the momentum back.
A Clifford hit and block by Emmeline Sandgren on Stone tied the game at 13-13. There were three more ties before the Hawks slowly pulled away as Clifford and Stanford traded kills with Stone.
When asked what the difference was between his Hawks and the Cougars, Karter paused for a second and said “Not much.”
“We played really strong defense,” said Karter. “We handled pressure pretty well. We came out fired up. They did all those things, too. The difference might have been Natalie Stanford. And Natalia Clifford, obviously.”
Other standouts for the Hawks included Sandgren with 46 assists. Curtin-Savala led the team’s tenacious defense with 14 digs. Makayla Sheffer had five kills.
“This year is just amazing — it’s unreal,” said Clifford. “To be in Division I my senior year is something I never would have imagined. I’m so proud of everyone on our team.”