NorCal volleyball roundup: No. 5 Oakland sweeps top seed Ben Holt of Stockton, Mitty awaits Division I opponent
Oakland High entered the CIF NorCal Division IV tournament as the No. 5 team in the bracket, a slot reserved for a team expected to perhaps make it to the second round, but probably no further.
No one told the Wildcats that. After topping No. 4 Balboa of San Francisco 3-1 in the opening round on Tuesday in the City, Oakland made a lengthy trek to Aspire Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy in Stockton on Thursday.
It was not an empty trip. Not only did the Wildcats beat No. 1 Ben Holt, the top seed in the field, they swept them.
The set scores were close – 25-23, 25-23, 25-20. But at this point, it’s evident that Oakland is a legitimate contender to win the NorCal title and reach the first-ever Division IV state championship game on May 31 against Southern California’s regional champion.
“I’m super proud of my guys for making it this far, the farthest in our school history,” Oakland coach Kao Saephanh told the Bay Area News Group. “We knew going into the match that they wouldn’t make it easy, but we also knew what we were capable of.”
Oakland (25-7) features a battle-tested group that went 10-0 in Oakland Athletic League regular-season play. In knocking off Ben Holt (39-2), the Wildcats handed the Bobcats their first home loss all season long.
“Most of the guys on my team, I’ve had the pleasure of coaching them for the past four years and know what great things they are capable of doing,” Saephanh said. “We didn’t give up and fought for every point, and I’m proud they were able to deliver tonight when it mattered. Congrats also to Ben Holt for putting up a good game against us.”
Offensively, outside hitter Raul Henriquez led the way for Oakland with 14 kills and five digs. Opposite/right side Nathan Le had eight kills, and middle blocker Moses Heida had six kills and six more blocks.
Libero Vincent Huynh helped coordinate the Cats’ defense with six digs, and setter Darren Nguyen dished out an even 30 assists.
Oakland High will now travel to face No. 2 Livingston, a school located southeast of Turlock in the Central Valley, on Saturday for the Division IV NorCal regional championship at 6 p.m. Livingston beat No. 3 Oakland Tech 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 in the other Division IV semifinal on Thursday.
Division I
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 3, No. 4 Clovis 0
Mitty had no trouble with its visitors from near Fresno, sweeping Clovis with relatively comfortable set scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-23.
The Monarchs (39-2) have not dropped a set so far in NorCal play, and they’re trending in the right direction. Mitty needed extra points to settle the first set and won by the minimum in the other two in a 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 sweep of No. 8 Oak Ridge on Tuesday in San Jose.
Mitty will now wait for the winner of No. 2 Harker and No. 3 Clovis East, which will be played on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in San Jose. Harker athletic director Dan Molin told the Bay Area News Group that the game was moved to accommodate Harker’s graduation ceremony, which was held on Thursday afternoon.
The Division I championship game will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Mitty.
Division II
No. 1 Buchanan 3, No. 4 Los Gatos 0
Los Gatos endured an unpleasant end to a great season on Thursday night in Clovis.
The home Bears (29-16) were dominant in their victory, winning by set scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-19. Los Gatos (20-12) failed to threaten Buchanan consistently in attack, compiling just 22 kills combined as a team.
Markus McGrath had the individual lead for kills with seven, followed by Sean Slover with four. Nico Bianchi and Nolan Harr added three each, while Weston Kafer and Zach Renfrew notched two apiece.
Reily Nguyen had a kill and the lone service ace for Los Gatos. Bianchi had three blocks, while Harr and Slover shared second place with two each. McGrath had one.
Slover led the way defensively with five digs, followed by Nolan Harr (four). Owen Benitez, Will Enneking, Weston Kafer and Nguyen had two each.
No. 3 Del Oro-Loomis 3, No. 2 Amador Valley 1
It will be a Bay Area-free Division II championship game after Del Oro had a pleasant stay in Pleasanton, taking down the home Dons by set scores of 25-21, 25-16, 14-25, 25-22.
Del Oro’s tough serving and potent hitting were the difference in the first two sets, according to Amador Valley coach Ross Yu. The Dons were firing on all cylinders in the third set thanks to contributions from hitters Max Riter and Nick Nayak, as well as improved defensive execution.
“We carried that momentum and energy into the fourth set, which was back and forth,” Yu said. “We came close to pushing it to a fifth set, but they pulled out the last few points.”
It was a little too little, too late for AV on Thursday night. Nevertheless, the Dons finish the year with a strong overall mark of 27-12.
“I am absolutely proud of how these boys came together and committed themselves to each other,” Yu said. “It is their closeness and their shared resolve as a team that enabled them to steadily improve over the course of the season. We would have loved the win, but we went out playing the Amador Valley brand of volleyball and knowing we gave it our all.”
Division III
No. 4 Branham 3, No. 1 Leigh 2
The fourth meeting between the two San Jose neighboring schools reached legendary heights as they played their second consecutive five-setter in a high-stakes postseason match. Sophomore Pasha Znamerovsky made a key block as Branham pulled away in the fifth set.
You can read our full story from the gym here.