St. Francis High girls’ volleyball team has returned to the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Senior middle blocker Carley Anderson had 10 kills to help lift the Sharks past Rancho San Juan High in four sets 10-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23 in Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division action Oct. 30.
With the win, St. Francis (15-10) improved to 7-7 in league play for a fourth place finish in the standings. The last time the program qualified for the CCS postseason was in 2017, and their lone section title was a D-V championship in 2009 when current head coach Sabrina Bracken was a senior with the Sharks.
“Talk about full circle,” Bracken said in a text message.
Juniors Georgia Otzman had 19 assists, Julie Lopez had 11 assists and 10 digs, and Peyton Orradre finished with seven kills and a team-best 19 digs. Fellow teammate senior Sophia Fitzpatrick contributed five kills and one ace for St. Francis, which celebrated Senior Night and Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness night.
“It was great to see the girls play super strong together and pull off the win against a good team,” Bracken said. “Everyone has great stats from that game and teamwork is what it took to win.”
The No. 5 seed Sharks got a bye in last week’s first round of the Division V bracket. They play at No. 4 University Prep Academy in San Jose on Tuesday at 7pm.
Correction: The St. Francis High girls’ volleyball team qualified for the Central Coast Section playoffs in 2017. A previous version stated the volleyball team hadn’t qualified for the playoffs since 2009, which was not true.
Scoreboard
Girls volleyball
Pioneer 3, at Aptos 2: The No. 5 seed Mariners fell to the No. 12 Mustangs in five sets 23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs Nov. 2.
Aptos finished this season with a 12-16 overall record and placed fifth with a 6-6 record in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League final standings.
Monte Vista Christian 3, at Gunderson 0: The No. 5 seed Mustangs swept the No. 12 Grizzlies in three sets 25-13, 25-20, 25-11 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division IV playoffs Nov. 2.
MVC (21-9, 8-6) plays at No. 4 Scotts Valley in the semifinals on Tuesday at 7pm.
At Santa Cruz 3, Pajaro Valley 0: The No. 12 seed Grizzlies fell to the No. 4 Cardinals in three sets 25-15, 25-12, 25-13 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs Nov. 2.
Pajaro Valley finished this season with a 17-10 overall record and captured the PCAL Santa Lucia Division crown by going a perfect 14-0 in league play this season.
Prep football
Monte Vista Christian 50, at Seaside 7: Dominic Pierini had 342 passing yards and five touchdowns for the Mustangs in their crushing win over the Spartans in PCAL Mission Division–North play Nov. 2.
Max Torres had a total of four touchdowns—two rushing and two receiving—for MVC. He had 77 yards rushing on four carries and four receptions for 119 yards.
Boston Ashe hauled in a team-best seven receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Nico Downie had five receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown.
On defense, Torres forced one fumble and had one quarterback sack, while Dylan Rush had one interception. Anthony Rodriguez was there to recover the fumble for MVC.
Gunner Sorensen led the Mustangs with 14 tackles, Iegor Moskalenko had two sacks and both James Hanzlik and Michael Van Dierendonck each had one sack.
MVC (5-4, 3-2) hosts St. Francis (6-3, 3-2) for Senior Night on Saturday at 6pm.
North Monterey County 34, at St. Francis 26: Joseph Dayritt had three rushing touchdowns for the Sharks in a loss to the Condors in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division–North action Saturday afternoon.
Dayritt had a 41-yard TD run in the first quarter and scored twice in the fourth, while Javier Da Rosa-Fonseca tossed a 35-yard TD pass to Jacob Jimenez in the second stanza.
“I’m proud of how our guys continued to fight,” St. Francis head coach John Ausman said in a text message. “We weren’t able to overcome some mistakes and missed opportunities. However we continued to play until the final whistle. Can’t be more proud of this group of seniors and I feel honored to coach them this far and to get another opportunity next week.”
Watsonville 31, Alisal 26: Senior defensive lineman Patrick Miller-Brown had a pick six that sealed it for the Wildcatz on their way to a win over the Trojans in PCAL Mission Division–North action Nov. 2.
Watsonville (4-5, 2-3) plays at North Monterey County (6-3, 4-1) on Friday at 7:30pm.
Girls flag football
King City 21, Watsonville 12: The No. 8 seed Wildcatz fell to the No. 3 Mustangs in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Girls Flag Football Tournament championship game on Nov. 2.
Watsonville quarterback Fernanda Lazo tossed a pair of touchdowns, one to Stephanie Martinez and the other to Brianna Leon.
King City quarterback Katia Slama had 231 passing yards and two touchdowns to receiver Yesenia Rodriguez, who had four receptions for 56 yards. Shyrah McDonald had four carries for 13 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Rodriguez and Samantha Muniz each had one interception for the Mustangs.
Watsonville finished this season with a 12-14 overall record and placed fourth with an 8-6 record in the PCAL Gabilan Division final standings.
Games of the Week
Monte Vista Christian at Scotts Valley, girls volleyball, Tuesday at 7pm: The No. 5 Mustangs (21-9, 8-6) continue their CCS playoff run against the No. 4 Falcons (19-9, 7-5) in the Division IV quarterfinals.
SCCAL Cross Country Championships, Thursday at 2pm: Aptos High along with six other schools within the league will gather for the end-of-the-season boys and girls championship races at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville.
Watsonville at North Monterey County, prep football, Friday at 7:30pm: The Wildcatz (4-5, 2-3) will try to play spoiler for a second straight season against the Condors (6-3, 4-1), who are looking to wrap up the PCAL Mission Division–North crown with a win in front of the home crowd.
Monte Vista Christian vs. St. Francis, prep football, Saturday at 6pm: The Mustangs (5-4, 3-2) are riding on a four game win streak heading into the regular season finale against the Sharks (6-3, 3-2), which is coming off a loss to North Monterey County. MVC could still clinch a share of the league title with a win and some outside help, including Watsonville taking care of business against North Monterey County on Friday night.
SCCAL Girls Flag Football Championships, Saturday at 9am: Aptos High and five other teams within the league will compete in a tournament at Harbor High School to determine this year’s SCCAL champion. The Mariners (8-1) could earn the top seed and a bye in the opening round with a win over Scotts Valley (7-2) in the teams’ regular season finale at Santa Cruz High on Wednesday at 6pm.
