St. Francis High Junior setter Julie Lopez had nine assists, one block, three aces and eight digs for the Sharks girls’ volleyball team in a three set 25-16, 25-13, 25-16 loss to University Prep Academy in the Central Coast Section Division V quarterfinals Tuesday evening.
“Even though we lost, the girls played a great game,” St. Francis head coach Sabrina Bracken said. “It was amazing to see them come together to play as a team the last bit of the season- the team had the same roster last year with only 3 wins and turned it around this year to a 15 win season! I couldn’t be more proud of them.
St. Francis junior Georgia Otzman had eight assists and three kills, and teammate junior Peyton Orradre contributed seven kills and seven digs.
Senior middle blocker Delaney Fowler had six kills for the Sharks, who finished the season with a 15-11 overall record. They placed fourth in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division final standings with a 7-7 record in league play.
“I’m happy with their constant improvements all year,” Bracken said.
At Scotts Valley 3, Monte Vista Christian 1: Hayden Smith had 21 kills and 13 digs for the No. 4 seed Falcons in a four set 25-14, 21-25, 25-23, 25-16 win over the No. 5 Mustangs in the CCS D-IV quarterfinals on Tuesday evening.
Ava Morrison had 17 kills and eight digs, Makayla McDonnell had six digs and six blocks, and Rylee Giesen added nine kills for Scotts Valley.
MVC finished with a 21-10 overall record and placed third in the PCAL Gabilan Division final standings with an 8-6 record in league play.
Boys cross country
Aptos wins SCCAL team title: The Mariners had five runners place in the top 10 en route to a team title at Thursday’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Cross Country Championships at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville.
Sophomore Sam Hansen took second place in 15 minutes, 29 seconds and teammate senior Vincent Sandford-Carroll (15:33) for the Mariners, who finished with a team score of 25.
Santa Cruz senior Eli Fitchen-Young won the race in 14:26, which was a new record on the recently redesigned 3-mile course.
Other top finishers for Aptos include junior Brady Bliesner (15:48), sophomore Anthony Sandord-Carroll (16:11) in sixth, and senior Andrew Pursley (16:43) in ninth. Junior Sean Mullen (16:54) placed 13th in a field of 44 runners.
Next up, the Mariners will be at the CCS Cross Country Championships at Crystal Springs Course in Belmont on Nov. 16. They are set to compete in the Division III race, which is scheduled for 11:45am.
Girls cross country
Aptos’ Schiro places second at SCCAL: Aptos junior Maya Schiro placed second in 18:40 at Thursday’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Cross Country Championships at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville.
Other finishers for the Mariners included sophomore Naomi Brunelli (22:40) in 21st, followed by senior Sophmie Cornish (22nd; 22:49), senior Grace Graff (26th; 23:42) and freshman Amber Chavez (28th; 24:59).
Schiro’s season continues at the CCS Cross Country Championships at Crystal Springs Course in Belmont on Nov. 16. She is set to compete in the Division III race, which is scheduled for 11:10am.
Girls flag football
Scotts Valley 20, Aptos 12: Claire Skinner, Gracie Delgado and Lilly Rittenhouse each scored one touchdown for the Falcons in a win over the Mariners in the teams’ Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League regular season finale Wednesday evening.
Sammy Rebbert scored a 2-point conversion for the Falcons, who will share the league title with both Aptos and Soquel. All three teams finished with an 8-2 record in SCCAL play.
On defense, Soraya Westlund had two interceptions and Natalia Laploll recorded one pick for Scotts Valley. Skinner had four flag pulls and three pass deflections.
Citiali Lopez and Westlund each had four flag pulls, while Lapioli had five for the Falcons.
Next up, both Aptos and Scotts Valley will compete in the SCCAL Girls Flag Football Tournament at Harbor High School for a chance to become this year’s outright league champion. The first round begins Saturday at 9am.
