High setter Maverick Manners of Santa Cruz tips the ball and Archbishop Mitty's Thomas Cole blocks it during Thursday's CIF Division I boys volleyball Norcal regional semifinal. (John Lee – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
SANTA CRUZ — The best season ever for the Santa Cruz High School boys volleyball program ended Thursday night with a heartbreaking loss to Archbishop Mitty in the CIF Division I Norcal Regional Semifinals. The Monarchs lost to the Cardinals in a close four-set game a week ago in the Central Coast Section Open Division semifinals, winning 25-22, 35-33, 24-26, 25-18.
The Monarchs' victory was their first in four games against the Cardinals this season.
All four sets were essentially dead even, with a few plays determining the winner each time. The 2-set-0 lead was a little too much to overcome as Mitty bounced back from Santa Cruz's seven set points to win a stunning marathon second set battle.
Gammon Nilsen had 19 kills for the Cardinals, who were 39-3, Julian “Juju” Parry had 14 kills and opposing hitter Tim Pohlman had 11 kills. Mitty (30-9) was led by William Dryden with 17 kills and Zach Flynn with 15 kills. They will play CCS champion Valley Christian for the NorCal title on Saturday night.
“It's been a hell of a season,” Santa Cruz setter Maverick Manners said. “This is the best season we've ever had. It was the most fun we've ever had. We played pretty well, but they dug us in a hole and we couldn't get out of it.”
Santa Cruz advanced to the CCS Open Division finals and the NorCal Top Division semifinals, essentially finishing tied for third in the northern half of the state. This made the Cardinals one of the best teams in school history in any sport, but after coming very close to a comeback that could have produced a decisive fifth set, the Cardinals shook hands with their opponents and He sat down on the bench with a dejected look. The Santa Cruz crowd cheered loudly during the game and applauded after the game.
“It's been a great season,” Santa Cruz coach Justin Bates said. “We fought long and hard until the end. Mitty came out firing and drove us out of the system. They served a little more aggressively than last time, pushing us deep into the court and He gave it to me.”
Both teams traded small leads throughout the first set. At 20-20, Mitty took the set with a late spurt, with middle Alan Malcolm scoring on a block and a powerful kill.
The second set was one of the most dramatic and wild yet. Santa Cruz reached set point multiple times but couldn't get the last point. Mitty had three set points, but the Cardinals fought them off and the Monarchs eventually scored three straight to win 35-33.
For Santa Cruz, Nilsen, Parry and Poelman led the way, with Leo Sapnaul and James Busch contributing from midfield. Manners set the pin and ran a backset to diversify the attack, connecting on the back row for bombs from Nilsen and Parry. These two guys have strong shots for the point, mixed in with roll shots and hints of winners. The defense, led by libero Lucas Kamalani, included a number of incredible shots from Parry and Nilsen, and had outstanding athleticism that came from his beach volleyball background. Still, Mitty won 2-0.
After that gut punch, Santa Cruz regained his composure with strong mental strength and returned to the match. Nilsen was as strong as ever as he racked up 19 kills in just 30 attacks. Parry and Pohlman each had big bombs as the Cardinals led the way with a 21-17 lead. Meethi got late and came back in a hurry. But Sapnor scored the key point with a perfect shot into the left corner and Mitty committed a net violation, giving the Cardinals the set at 26-24.
In the fourth set, Santa Cruz tried his best to even things up in two sets apiece. Mitty built a small lead and the Cardinals came back multiple times. A deft back-row kill from Parry and a hitting error from Mitty cut the Monarchs' lead to 19-18.
However, Mitty counterattacked with a strong surge led by two blocks from middleman Thomas Cole. When Flynn knocked in a cross for the final point, the bench erupted onto the court and joined his teammates in a huge celebration. Just two years ago, in the first round of the regional playoffs, Mitty scored the last six points in the third set to dominate top-seeded Clovis on the road, 25-20, 25-23, 26-24. The Monarchs had magical postseason success.
“We had a fighting mentality,” Mitty coach Lacey Guerra said. “We stayed aggressive. We wanted to stop JuJu and Gammon. We tried to release the middle to get double blocks in front of those two.”
For Santa Cruz, Mitty's tough serve strategy of keeping the sluggers out of his system worked most of the time. Compared to the previous matchup, the Monarchs strengthened their defense around libero EJ Tejano. Additionally, Mitty did a better job of keeping Santa Cruz out of the system.
Santa Cruz graduated two superstars, a left-handed pole man who is always a matchup challenge for opponents, and Manners, a versatile setter who understands batters well and does a great job of diversifying his attack. But a solid core is back and Bates is looking forward to what happens next. His reign included three consecutive Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championships and upward trending success in the playoffs in CCS and NorCal action.
“Some rock star players are leaving the program,” Bates said. “Hopefully we have some sophomores step up and play big roles.”
Score
Archbishop Miti 3, Santa Cruz 1
25-22, 35-33, 24-26, 25-18
next: end of season
