The Sacred Heart Prep girls' volleyball team started out well, but then dropped matches to two of the best teams in the Central Coast Section and finished 2-2 at the Presentation Panther Challenge tourney on Saturday in San Jose.

The Gators (22-4) defeated Mercy-Burlingame, 25-16, 25-18, and took a 23-25, 25-18, 15-13 triumph from Los Gatos to open the tournament. SHP then dropped a 25-18, 22-25, 15-12 decision to Mitty and a 20-25, 25-18, 15-9 match to Presentation.

Seniors Ellie Shannon (30 kills, 13 blicks) and Payton Smith (26 kills, 16 blocks) led the way for SHP while sophomore Victoria Garrick added 23 kills and 28 digs. Seniors Sonia Abuel-Saud (16 kills, 20 digs), Cammie Merten (53 assists) and Helen Gannon (70 digs) also contributed, as did Natalie Marshall (50 assists).

The Gators will put their 5-0 league mark on the line when they open the second half of West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) action Tuesday at Priory.

At the NorCal Classic in Folsom, Menlo-Atherton finished the one-day tourney with a 4-2 mark and in sixth place in the in the 12-team event.

The Bears (18-7) defeated St. Ignatius and Oak Ridge to win their pool and topped host Vista del Lago High in a crossover match to earn the No. 2 seed in the Gold Division

At that point, said M-A coach Ron Whitmill, the Bears "just kind of ran out of steam. I think the girls got tired. We just don't have the depth right now."

After losing to Christian Brothers and then beating Foothill (Pleasanton), Whitmill sat junior standout Pauli King in a final-round loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral.

"But, all in all, we played really well," Whitmill said.

King was named to the all-tournament team after getting 55 digs and 30 kills. Senior Katelyn Doherty finished with 57 digs, 42 kills and 43 assists while Kaitlin Taverez added 75 assists, 44 digs and eight aces; Ally Ostrow finished with 44 digs and 23 kills, Saane Fakalata had 15 kills and Virginia Lane contributed 74 digs.

Boys' water polo
Sacred Heart Prep defeated San Ramon Valley for the second time in two three weeks with a 7-5 nonleague win on Saturday in Atherton.

The Gators (15-3) were led by Nelson Perla-Wards's three goals and two by Zach Churukian and Will Conner, while senior goalie Will Runkel came up with 15 saves.

SHP topped San Ramon Valley three weekends ago in the championship match of the NCS vs. CCS Challenge.

The Gators will visit Serra on Wednesday in West Catholic Athletic League action before hosting the annual North-South Challenge on Friday and Saturday. SHP will be the No. 1 seed for the North while Mater Dei is the No. 1 seed for the South.

Girls' water polo
Castilleja went 2-3 at the annual Western States tournament at Oakdale High over the weekend.

The Gators (9-7) defeated Nevada Union, 4-2; lost to Del Oro, 4-3; fell to San Joaquin Memorial, 9-2; and topped Carondelet, 6-1, before falling to Sonora, 5-3.

Anna Yu tallied six goals, Stephanie Flamen had four and Sydney Molano three while goalie Fernanda Kramer came up with 32 saves.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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