SCCAL advances three boys volleyball teams into CCS semifinals
SANTA CRUZ - Harbor High's history-making boys volleyball season continues. The Pirates, in their first-ever Central Coast Section Open Division competition, used late rallies to take the first two sets and rolled to a 26-24, 25-20, 25-18 sweep of Harker in quarterfinals on Tuesday evening.
The visiting Eagles, champions of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's De Anza Division and an Open semifinalist last year, were strong on the attack early and appeared to have the first set in the bag.
Not so fast, my friends. Before a raucous home crowd, Harbor erased a 24-21 deficit by scoring the final five points of the opening set. The Pirates trailed 16-12 in the second set and again caught fire to charge ahead, closing with a 13-4 run. The momentum continued in the third set as Harbor never trailed and nailed the sweep.
"It feels great," Harbor's Josh Rejfir said. "It's the first time we've been in Open. We started off with a win and we did it in three. I think we were a bit nervous early but then we woke up."
Rejfir led Harbor with 15 kills and Cooper Lastition belted 13, along with three aces and nine digs. JJ Laughlin had a strong game, ripping eight kills and Grady McKee contributed six. Setter Rocklin Paco had 37 assists and libero Ryan Wait had 10 digs.
"I'm so proud of them," Harbor coach Kendall Ronzano said. "They're a special group. It's so cool to see how they have progressed over the last four years. It's cool to see what they have been able to accomplish. After the beginning of the game tonight, something lit up. They started playing with joy. They got to a whole ‘nother level."
Harker started off with a fierce middle attack and powerful outside play from Topaz Lee. As the night progressed, Harbor got blocks up on the attackers, stuffing some plays and slowing others to help digs by the back row. The defense, led by Wait, was diving everywhere and not allowing anything to drop.
The offense minimized mistakes, found hitting options and aggressive serving kept Harker out of system. Paco found Rejfir and Lastition from different hitting points and mixed in attacks from McKee and Laughlin.
"The system we run puts a lot of pressure on the setter," Ronzano said. "He has to watch the blockers as he sets and get 1v1's. It gives you versatility in your offense. Rocklin was very poised and he was moving it around."
In the key moments to take the first set, Lastition served a topspin ace and Rejfir delivered kills via a tight cross and huge block on Harker middle Spencer Mo.
In the second set, two Harker timeouts could not slow the Harbor freight train in the closing rush. Rejfir and Lastition each blasted two kills, Laughlin served an ace, and McKee skied for a huge block.
"It feels great," Lastition said. "We play so well together. We locked down their middles and adapted to where they were swinging. For us, hitting line was working well."
With its win, Harbor (32-5 overall) added to its school-record win total and qualified for next week's CIF NorCal Regional playoffs. First, it will play Thursday in the Open semifinals against No. 1 Bellarmine (28-6) in San Jose.
"It's a full-circle moment for our seniors," said Ronzano, of facing Harker. "We got swept in D-II their freshman year. Now we see them in Open and host them. And the crowd livened up the atmosphere. I'm really proud of them and glad we could share the win with our home crowd."
No. 3 Archbishop Mitty (27-7) of San Jose plays at No. 2 Saint Francis (27-10) in Mountain View in the other semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Division II
At Santa Cruz 3, Prospect 1: Outside hitters, junior Matty Rayray and senior Charlie Hess paced the No. 2 Cardinals' attack as they rallied for a 17-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 win over the No. 7 Panthers in the CCS D-II quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Rayray had 18 kills, four aces, and one block, and Hess had 14 kills, eight digs, and one ace.
Senior middle blocker Guillermo Mazier had nine kills, three blocks, and three digs for the Cardinals (22-13), the SCCAL runner-up. Senior libero Lucas Kamalani made 21 sigs
"After a slow start, Santa Cruz really stepped up in energy and hustle from the second set on," Cardinals coach Peter Edwards said. "The match was very momentum driven from both sides. Matty Rayray had some big plays that swung momentum in our favor several times throughout and a big ace near the end of fourth to close it out."
Santa Cruz hosts No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral (16-20) of San Francisco in the semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Fightin' Irish followed up their first round sweep of No. 14 Pacific Collegiate on Monday with a 26-24, 25-23, 25-11 sweep of No. 6 Monterey (13-25) in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
At Mount Madonna 3, Hillsdale 1: Nikowa D'Costa Hemp and David Monclus powered the No. 4 Hawks to a 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22 win over the No. 5 Knights in the CCS D-II quarterfinals on Tuesday.
D'Costa Hemp had a team-high 28 kills and Monclus added 25 kills for the Hawks (19-12), the third-place finisher in the SCCAL. Solomon Coleman made 48 assists and served for a team-high 15 points.
"This team has been the ultimate embrace of the underdog spirit," Hawks coach PK McDonald said. "A mix of new players constantly learning and improving and veterans making spectacular plays, coming together to find away to advance. Hillsdale did a great job of mixing up their attack and adjusting their defense, which set up a lot triple blocks. But, in the end, the Hawks were able to blast their way through to the semifinals."
Austin Chen had an passing rating of 89.5% for the Knights (19-7).
Mt Madonna plays at No. 1 Carmel (21-6) in the semifinals on Thursday at 5 p.m.
The Padres earned a 27-25, 25-21, 26-24 sweep of No. 8 Saratoga (24-8) in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
Sentinel Sports Editor Jim Seimas contributed to this report.
IF YOU GO
CCS semifinals; Thursday
Open Division: No. 4 Harbor at No. 1 Bellarmine, 6 p.m
D-II: No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral at No. 2 Santa Cruz, 6 p.m.
D-II: No. 4 Mount Madonna at No. 1 Carmel, 5 p.m.
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