Girls volleyball: Redwood aces test in NorCal semifinals
The Redwood High girls volleyball team literally aced its way to the CIF Northern California Division I final with an extraordinary serving night on Saturday against Campolindo.
The No. 6-seeded Giants have many weapons, mind you, but their 19 ace serves knocked the Cougars off their feet and out of sync for a 25-12, 25-20, 25-16 semifinal victory.
Redwood (27-5) will meet a familiar foe on Tuesday in the NorCal final when the Giants play at No. 5 Foothill in Pleasanton. The Giants lost 3-1 to Foothill in the first round of the new North Coast Section Open Division, but have been on a tear ever since.
“The first-round loss in the NCS Open Division was a very different team than you’re seeing now,” said Redwood coach Jane Seslar. “You could tell we were very tentative and thinking too much, and now we’re just having fun playing volleyball. I think it would complete that full circle for us to play them again and pull out a win.”
The Giants rebounded from their loss against Foothill to take fifth place in NCS with a 3-0 win over Carondelet. Now competing in D-1 for NorCals, Redwood has beaten three straight opponents by 3-0 scores.
Against No. 10 Campo (29-10), Redwood was sparked by the powerful serving of sophomore Logan Leverte, who finished with a team-high 10 aces. The defensive specialist ripped four aces early in the first game to spark a run of nine straight points that put Redwood ahead for good, 12-3.
In the third game, Leverte cranked back-to-back aces to give Redwood a 23-19 lead that essentially shut the door on the Cougars’ comeback efforts.
“As of lately, our serving has been really strong,” said Seslar. “That’s something we work on every single day in practice. It’s paying off for sure. Each game we keep getting better even at this point of the season. Our serving was probably the best it’s been tonight.”
The balanced Giants have so much talent that it’s tough to single out any one player. Seslar credits sophomore setter Katie Lazzareschi with the Giants’ unpredictability that keeps opposing defenses off guard.
Sophomore Maddie Wagner led the team with 17 kills. Freshman Milan Hendrickson added nine kills and five ace serves. Senior Neeva Gaine had seven kills and two blocks. Middle blockers Hanna Smith, a senior, and Amelia Matthews, a sophomore, had five kills apiece.
“This team has come so far,” said Gaine. “We’re working so hard and everyone is having fun. I think our offense is really strong as well as our defense. Our serve pass is so good. That’s what helps us win games.”
Redwood’s defense was stellar against Campolindo’s star outside hitter Avery Stone, who was slowed by the Giants’ double blocks and then often pressed to overhit. Even when Campo hitters did connect, Redwood libero Ella Moran was everywhere for spectacular digs to keep the point alive.
“I think Ella Moran is probably my MVP for our past matches by how she’s leading the way with what we call unkillable defense where you’re just really hard to get a kill on,” said Seslar. “She’s been doing a great job covering, making adjustments, and leading the hustle for our team.”
With a victory on Tuesday, Redwood would advance to the state championship game next Friday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange against either No. 4 Palos Verdes or No. 10 Santa Margarita from Southern California. Seslar says playing in the MCAL, where the Giants finished third, has readied her players for anything and everything.
“Thank you Marin Catholic and Branson for preparing us,” said Seslar. “It’s such a help. It really helps us with these postseason matches. We see the hard swings. We see the hustle defense. They got us to fight throughout the whole season.”