November 3, 2007
SCCAL girls volleyball tournament: Mt. Madonna makes final memorable,
upsets undefeated Harbor
Julie Jag
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ — It was a girls volleyball match to remember. But when
Mount Madonna School senior Hannah Meade thought back on her team's
upset of Harbor in the final of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League
tournament Friday night, it was just one big happy blur.

"We've been working for this for so long and it came true," Meade
said. "I don't remember the last five points. When it finished, I
didn't cry, but I know I should have."

Players on both sides shed tears after the final ball dropped onto the
court at Santa Cruz High in the Hawks' 13-25, 26-24, 25-18, 20-25,
15-10 win.

Mt. Madonna's players piled onto each other on the floor and shed
tears of joy. They had pulled off the biggest win in the program's
history and girls sports in general at the small school. By defeating
Harbor [35-5], the Hawks [22-6], the No. 2 team in the league's
regular-season standings earned a share of the SCCAL title — Mt.
Madonna's first in a varsity girls sport.

The Pirates shed tears of disappointment. After going undefeated
through the 14-match league season and winning two tournament matches,
Harbor was unable to win the match that would allow the Pirates to
keep the SCCAL title all to themselves.

"I think Mt. Madonna played a great match. They're a tough volleyball
team and they've been working hard all season," Harbor coach Brian
Gallagher said. But, he added, "This is a rough situation for our
girls, to be in a match like this with nothing to gain and everything
to lose. It's a mentally tough situation to be in."

Mt. Madonna coach Gabby Houston agreed. She said she thought her Hawks
played more aggressively and less nervously because they had nothing
to lose. Both teams had already secured the league's automatic berth
to the Central Coast Section playoffs. Plus, since tournament matches
don't count toward a team's overall or league record, if the Hawks had
lost, the match would have virtually disappeared from the record books.

"They had more to lose than we did," Houston said. "At the end, they
were getting scared, and we were just chomping at the bit."

When it comes to the CCS playoffs, neither team should lose that much.
Despite having to split all its league-champion power points with the
Hawks, Gallagher said he still expects the Pirates to get a good
position in the Division IV playoffs at today's seeding meeting in San
Jose. For the Hawks, the win virtually guarantees a No. 1 seed in D-V
— the seed they most likely would have gotten no matter the outcome of
Friday's match.

St. Francis, which finished third in the regular-season standings, and
Aptos, which finished fourth, will also likely be headed for the CCS
playoffs. St. Francis coach Denise Sheldon said she expects the Sharks
to get a spot somewhere between No. 2 and No. 4 in D-V. The Mariners
will likely start somewhere in the middle of the D-III bracket.

Mt. Madonna, a school with a enrollment of 48 in grades 9-12, fields
just eight varsity players. To defeat the Pirates, whom by Gallagher's
assessment didn't play their best, they all had to perform nearly
flawlessly Friday night. And after getting shut down in the first
game, they did exactly that.

The Hawks' momentum-turning win came in Game 2. After going back and
forth through most of the game, Harbor took a 24-23 lead with a chance
at the win. Mt. Madonna held on with a big block to tie the score,
however, then took the closing two points on an ace from Meade and a
kill from Rosendale. Meade then helped serve the Hawks to their Game 3
win. Harbor came alive in Game 4 behind the hitting and blocking of
Karissa Cook. But the Pirates couldn't carry that momentum over to the
final game. With their title on the line, they had too much to lose
and the Hawks were too hungry.

"You can't come in thinking any team's going to roll over. It's going
to be a fight, and you just play," Houston said.

"They played great. They didn't buckle at all."

Senior outside Alexa Rosendale didn't have another 40 kill performance
like she did in the Hawks' defeat of No. 3 St. Francis in Thursday's
semifinal. Still, she led the team with 25 kills and 16 digs. Meade
finished with 22 kills and six aces and middle hitter Ashleigh England
added two blocks and four kills, including match point. Erin Mitchell
put up 45 assists, while Soma Sharan and Joanna Koda added 11 and 7
digs, respectively.

Cook finished with 15 kills and 30 assists for the Pirates. Molly
Glasgow added 10 kills and 19 digs and Olivia Morgan made nine kills
and 16 digs. Iris Farrens had a strong night hitting from the right
side, making eight kills.

For the Pirates, it was the kind of match they'd rather forget. Not so
for the Hawks. They'll be talking about this one for a long time.

"That was awesome!" Houston said after the match. "This is how you end
a league season."
Contact Julie Jag at jjag@....