Girls volleyball: Branson makes history as first NCS Open champion

It was fitting that the first North Coast Section Open Division volleyball playoffs came down to the two programs that have won more section titles than any others in recent years.

A quick glance at the history of the NCS brackets revealed that The Branson School came in having won 13 titles in the past 14 postseasons while Marin Catholic had won in eight of the past nine.

Going forward, that history will show that the Bulls were crowned as the first Open Division champions following a 25-17, 25-12, 25-14 victory over MC at Dominican University on Saturday night.

“We’re just trying to push as hard as we can and use every match to get better,” Branson sophomore middle blocker Abby King said. “We’re trying to take advantage of every opportunity that we get to play to better ourselves and just play at a higher level.”

Branson’s blocking was one of the key differences between the two teams on Saturday, with King registering a game-high 10 blocks to go along with eight kills. Perhaps the most eye-popping stat is that Branson (22-4), now with its 14th title in 15 postseasons, has lost just one NCS game in King’s lifetime.

“There can only be one first [Open champion] and no one can ever take that away from us, regardless of what happens in the future,” Branson coach Michelle Brazil said. “I think that’s the part that I really feel proud of.”

Both teams, along with fifth-place Open finisher Redwood and Division I champion Tam, are set to advance to next week’s NorCal championships. The seeding meeting is on Sunday.

“They just really all love playing together and they know that playing well is going to equate to more season and so I think in and of itself that’s a great motivator,” Brazil said of her players. “There are also a fair number of these kids who have been to a State Championship, so that is also something looming in the back of their heads. We have not talked about State at all. This was the last piece of our goals that we’ve set so we have not talked about what comes next but better believe that talk is coming on Monday.”

Branson won the D-I state title two seasons ago with current seniors Elena Fisher, Lauren Dignan, and Celia Tolmie playing key roles as sophomores.

“Just getting to look back and seeing our names on banners and to know that we did that and we were part of something bigger than ourselves is really amazing,” Dignan said. “It feels great.”

Branson had never had the opportunity to prove it was the best team in the entire section until this season and left no doubt, seizing control of the match early against MC (25-7).

Branson got a flurry of kills by Cussen to end the first set, took advantage of some errors by MC to claim the second, then got several kills down the stretch from King, including the match winner.

Branson claims the third 25-14 to become first NCS Open champs. Mstch winner by King. #marinvolleyball pic.twitter.com/o9Ep1n2wbv

— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 10, 2024

“They are one of the best teams in Northern California and they have hitters all across the board and defense all across the board,” MC coach Nick Honrada said. “The difference today was they didn’t make any errors and we played a very heavy-error match.”

MC has only been swept three times all season in five-set matches – twice by Branson and once by St. Ignatius. Branson held MC to a season-low 43 points across the three sets on Saturday.

The Bulls got balanced hitting from Fisher (10 kills), Cussen (10 kills), plus King’s eight kills. Branson also got eight blocks from Ellie Corsello and five more from Cussen and Tolmie.

“Abby is a great blocker and I know they prepared so hard for this match,” Honrada said. “They wanted it bad – just as much as my team did. They knew what we ran and they executed their blocking scheme perfectly.”

Dignan added 11 digs. Lucy Tusher added nine digs and five aces. Tolmie also had 31 assists.

Branson and MC could potentially meet for a fifth time in the NorCal playoffs and both teams seem to be set up to compete in the NCS Open Division again next season. MC placed second in the section with just one senior on the team and a lineup that featured a ton of underclassmen. Four sophomores – Rania Brody, Grace Basso, Sierra Ellison, and Sydney Ryssemus – plus freshmen Carolina Delaney and Eden Cisneros played key roles for MC this season.

“Grace got injured so Eden had to come in and play six rotations which she hasn’t done since the beginning of the year,” Honrada said. “So for her to come in and be a difference maker for us, she saved us points with her defense in the front row and in the back row. I’m very pleased with how she took that role.”