Prep notes: Hilmar volleyball could meet Sonora in title game again

Another girls high school volleyball showdown seems inevitable between Hilmar and Sonora.

The Sac-Joaquin Section released playoff brackets Wednesday, and the two-time defending section champion Wildcats (27-4) are the top seed in Division IV. The second-seeded Yellowjackets (33-6) are in the other half of the bracket.

Sonora has defeated Hilmar in the section title match the last two seasons.

“Here we go again,” said Yellowjackets coach Patti Harris. “Sonora is strong again; we know that. We’ve seen them plenty of times. It’s definitely the match again for the third year in a row, but we’ll see. We have to get there.”

The Yellowjackets will open at home against No. 15 Summerville at 7 p.m. Sonora will host No. 16 Los Banos. All first-round matches begin Tuesday.

After winning its first Western Athletic Conference championship, El Capitan earned the No. 6 seed in Division III and will host No. 11 Manteca.

Golden Valley and Buhach Colony will open on the road in Division II. The No. 12 Cougars travel to No. 5 Whitney-Rocklin. The 13th-seeded Thunder opens at No. 4 Elk Grove.

Le Grand tied Waterford for the final playoff spot in the Southern League. The Bulldogs won a coin flip, drew the No. 13 seed in Division V and travel to Modesto to face No. 4 Big Valley Christian. Also in Division V, No. 7 Mariposa opens at home against No. 10 Rio Vista.

In Division VI, Stone Ridge Christian earned the No. 3 seed and will have a first-round bye. The Knights will host No. 6 Stockton Christian on Nov. 12. Like Hilmar, Stone Ridge Christian has reached the section title match two years in a row, only to lose to Turlock Christian both years. The Eagles were moved up to Division V after winning three consecutive Division VI championships.

After two long playoff runs, Knights coach Ken Shaw feels his team is playoff tested, especially with five seniors in Marina Ontis, Peyton Minor, Alexa Capule, Alexis Louters and Justine De Jager.

“Our experience is great,” Shaw said. “I have five seniors and four juniors, who have all experienced the playoffs. I think we will do really well. I think I’ll really lean on my five seniors. They’re hungry and ready to play.”

Water polo playoffs – The El Capitan girls team will host its first home playoff game Thursday night. The Gauchos (20-6) are the No. 4 seed in Division III and will host No. 5 Oakmont (18-6) at 5:30 p.m. Both teams had first-round byes Tuesday.

El Capitan is led by Hope Stokes, who leads the team with 75 goals and 33 assists.

In Division II, Golden Valley and Merced will travel for their quarterfinal games. The sixth-seeded Cougars (19-11) play No. 3 Oakdale at Johansen at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars defeated No. 11 McNair 18-5 on Tuesday.

Seventh-seeded Merced (16-9) will travel to Napa to face No. 2 Vintage (23-4) at 3:30 p.m.

On the boys side, Merced and El Capitan will host quarterfinal games Friday.

The No. 2 seed Gauchos (21-6) will face No. 7 Oakdale, which defeated No. 10 Bear River 10-8 on Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m.

Merced (23-4), the No. 3 seed in Division II, will host the winner of Wednesday’s McNair-Downey game at Golden Valley at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Tenth-seeded Atwater upset No. 7 Whitney 8-5 in the first round Wednesday. The Falcons (14-12) outscored the Wildcats 4-0 in the second half after trailing 5-4 heading into the third quarter.

Connor Norton had four goals and goalie Vince Baraldi stopped 16 shots. Atwater will travel to Stockton on Friday to face No. 2 St. Mary’s at 3:30 p.m.

Cross country – The cross country postseason begins Saturday with runners heading to Frogtown in Angels Camp for the Sac-Joaquin Section Subsection Meet. The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

The top 10 teams and top 10 individuals not with a team in each division will advance to the section championship Nov. 14 in Folsom at Willow Hill.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Prep notes: Hilmar volleyball could meet Sonora in title game again."