El Capitan volleyball knocked out of playoffs. Hilmar, Le Grand advance to semifinals.
Hailey Naldoza recorded 16 kills and five aces to lead the No. 3 seeded Christian Brothers past No. 6 El Capitan 22-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-13 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs on Thursday night.
The Gauchos finished the season with a 23-8 record.
Paige Martin paced El Capitan with 15 kills, 18 digs and three aces. Robin Helms added 12 kills and six blocks and Natalie Collins finished with 34 assists, 14 digs and two aces for the Gauchos.
Hilmar 3, West Campus 0 in Hilmar – Top-seeded Hilmar swept West Campus 25-11, 25-13, 25-12 to advance to the Division IV semifinals on Tuesday against Ripon. Olivia Peterson led the Yellowjackets with 18 kills. Mikela Labno added 15 kills and four aces for Hilmar.
Le Grand 3, Holt Academy 0 in Le Grand – Alexa Ultreras led the way for the No. 4 seeded Bulldogs with 19 kills and six blocks in a 25-12, 25-20, 25-12 win over Holt Academy. Le Grand will advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 1 seed Woodland Christian.
Priscilla Barnett chipped in with 11 kills and three blocks and Alexis Aguallo added 15 digs and three aces.
Water Polo playoff matchups set
El Capitan, Buhach Colony and Merced girls will host playoff games next week. The Gauchos finished off a perfect 12-0 run to their second consecutive Central California Conference championship and earned the No. 3 seed in the Division II playoffs. El Capitan will host No. 14 Johansen on Wednesday.
Buhach Colony and Merced are also in the Division II girls field. Buhach Colony is the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Ceres. Merced is the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Laguna Creek. The games will be played at either 3:30 or 5:30 p.m., depending on the desire of the host team.
The Buhach Colony, El Capitan and Merced boys teams all qualified for the playoffs. The Thunder won the CCC championship and earned the No. 5 seed in Division II. Buhach Colony will host No. 12 Rodriguez on Tuesday. El Capitan is the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Oakmont. Merced is the No. 9 seed and will travel to No. 8 Bear Creek in Stockton.