APTOS — Yet another chapter will be written in one of the oldest and richest Santa Cruz County volleyball rivalries come Saturday.
Aptos High and Soquel High will play for the Central Coast Section Division III championship on Saturday at Watsonville High at 7 p.m. after each team won its section semifinal match on Wednesday night at Aptos.
No. 2 Aptos (14-7) dropped No. 3 Hillsdale High, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, while top-seeded Soquel (23-7) eliminated No. 5 Saratoga High, 26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23.
It will be the third time the two teams have played this season and first time they have met in a CCS championship game since 1992. Aptos, then coached by Christa Cook, beat Soquel in five sets for the program’s first and only section title.
“We’re ready,” said Aptos High senior setter Dani Hewitt. “We know we can take them.”
Aptos High senior setter Dani Hewitt talks about the Mariners’ return to the CCS Division III championship game. #RPsports pic.twitter.com/dflo5jBuKq
— Tony Nunez (@Tony_Nunez) November 9, 2017
The Mariners last year advanced to their first CCS championship game since 1995 only to come up heart-wrenchingly short in a five-set loss to Burlingame High.
They knew very little about Burlingame heading into last year’s final. This time around, the Mariners will know everything about the Knights and vice versa.
Aptos lost to Soquel on the road during the first round of the SCCAL season but has since won 12 straight matches, including a five-set thriller over the Knights, en route to a share of its fifth straight league championship and Saturday’s section final.
The championship will be a much-anticipated rubber match between the two squads that will determine who will have the final word in the rivalry for this season.
“Since I already know that the Santa Cruz County volleyball teams — both boys and girls — take so much pride in being the best in this area, the fact that Soquel will be the opponent means we’re going to see every ounce of these athletes on Saturday,” said Aptos head coach Ashley Tennant. “It’s just something that these kids care about.”
The Mariners mostly cruised on Wednesday night over Hillsdale (21-7). Aptos made enough plays down the stretch in the first set and regrouped nicely after the Fighting Knights evened up the match by stealing the second.
Junior outside hitter Jillian Rodriguez buoyed the Mariners’ offense in the third set. She smashed down several kills during the all-important set and was all-but unstoppable throughout the night. She finished with a game-high 19 kills and also made 15 digs on defense.
“We really wanted to go back to CCS and take that win this time,” said Rodriguez, who joked that her hamburger at the Mariners’ team lunch powered her big night. “I’m really excited to play Soquel for the third time. That’s going to be a really good game.”
Hewitt made a team-high 20 assists and added 13 digs, sophomore defensive specialist Peyton Dueck led the Mariners in digs (29) and senior middle blockers Abbi Saxton and Braelynn Westjohn combined for 7 blocks and seven kills.
Saxton and Westjohn were money for Aptos all night. The undefeated champion of the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean division, Hillsdale received big performances from its outside hitters junior Leiana Cassidy and senior Camryn Yuen, whom combined for 22 kills, but the Fighting Knights were not able to slow the Mariners’ presence inside.
By the time the third set had begun, Aptos had everything rolling offensively and was a stonewall at the net.
“Everyone just worked more as a unit, I think, starting in that third game,” Saxton said.
Aptos High senior middle blocker Abbi Saxton talks about the Mariners’ CCS D-3 semifinal win over Hillsdale. #RPsports pic.twitter.com/x2uAmVQwo4
— Tony Nunez (@Tony_Nunez) November 9, 2017
That’s been usual for the Mariners as of recent.
After losing its first four matches of the season and holding a 2-7 record, Aptos did not panic. Instead, the Mariners banded together and turned their season around by growing as a team.
They have not lost since Sept. 21 and they have looked like a different squad during their three months of undefeated play.
“Our unity is just at the highest point ever,” Tennant said. “It was higher from the first time we played Soquel to the second time and I do think that was a huge part as to why we beat them the second time around. With it being stronger than ever, I feel like Soquel is not just playing our volleyball team but our team. Hopefully it’s a tough thing to beat. Hopefully.”
