Castilleja a step closer to its goal Castilleja a step closer to its goal (November 25, 2005)

Gators win NorCal volleyball opener and is two wins from state finals

by Keith Peters

The pressure began to build from Day 1. The Castilleja volleyball team was good and was going to get better. Expectations were sky high.

"We've been feeling that pressure all season," said Castilleja coach Tracie Hubbard. "I can accept that. But we had to put all that behind us because we had some goals we want to achieve."

The first big goal was to win the first Central Coast Section volleyball title in school history. The Gators achieved that on Nov. 19 by beating Sacred Heart Prep for the Division V title.

That victory earned Castilleja a No. 1 seed for the CIF NorCal Tournament, Castilleja's second goal. Three victories will lead the Gators to goal No. 3.

"We want to go to state," Hubbard said. "And we're in good position to do that."

Castilleja (34-6) opened its bid for goals No. 2 and 3 with a dominating 25-15, 25-9, 25-12 triumph over No. 8 seed Portola (19-11) on Tuesday night at Eastside Prep in East Palo Alto.

The Gators now advance to the NorCal Division V semifinals on Saturday at Sacred Heart Prep at 7 p.m. against No. 5 seed Turlock Christian (32-4) from the San Joaquin Section. The winner of that match will move on to the NorCal finals on Tuesday. Should that be Castilleja, the match will be at Sacred Heart Prep.

Sacred Heart Prep will not be playing on its home court. The No. 6-seeded Gators (19-16) were eliminated by No. 3 Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday, 20-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23.

In NorCal Division IV action, No. 5 Menlo (24-14) opened with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-13 victory at No. 4 Sutter and will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at top-seeded St. Mary's (Berkeley) at 7 p.m.

If a local team is still standing by Tuesday night, it will be Castilleja. The Gators have the height, the talent and experience to reach their goals this season and appear primed for the run.

"As long as was can serve and pass, we'll be OK," Hubbard said after Tuesday's opener, which took barely an hour to complete.

The key to Castilleja's success is putting the ball in position for seniors Ariel Baxterbeck, Chelsea Ono-Horn and Alissa Fletcher. Baxterbeck attacks from the left and Ono-Horn, a lefty, attacks from the right. Fletcher, a towering presence in the middle, can be dominating at the net.

Baxterbeck had 13 kills and Ono-Horn contributed nine against Portola, while junior setter Katherine Jordan did a good job getting the ball to both with 26 assists. Portola tried to double block Baxterbeck, which opened up Ono-Horn on the opposite side. Flesher, Baxterbeck, Bethany Tsui and Laura Smith were particularly effective with their serves as the Gators had only three service errors.

There simply is no easy way to stop the Gators, unless they stop themselves. Hubbard said the opening win was good to help Jordan and backup setter Courtney Chang get into a rhythm, which could pay off later.

"If we make it to state," Hubbard said, "we want our hitters to be effective."

Should Castilleja reach the NorCal finals against Crystal Springs Uplands, there will be plenty of local interest. Crystal Springs senior Chelsea Kubal, who had 21 kills and 21 digs, is from Atherton while junior Emily Avis, who had 42 assists, is from Palo Alto. The Gryphons also have four other local players.

Girls tennis

Sacred Heart Prep junior and top seed Sam Rosekrans captured the CCS singles title on Tuesday following a marathon day at the CCS singles and doubles tournament at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos.

Rosekrans rallied to beat talented Mitty freshman Tayler Davis in the finals, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). The match took some 2 hours and 40 minutes. Earlier in the day, Rosekrans posted a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 triumph over Monta Vista's Sophie Chang.

"I am really proud of her," said SHP coach Losaline Mafileo. "She played great tennis all around. She came back from being down 2-5 in the third set to win the tiebreaker. She was really focused and her heart was in that match."

"After I got down in the third set," Rosekrans, "I felt I had nothing to lose, so I went after it."

Second-seeded Sarah Hoffman of Menlo missed out on making it an all-Atherton finale after losing to Davis in the semifinals, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5, 6-3. Hoffman bounced back from that to beat Chang for third place, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Menlo's doubles team of junior Gaby Filipcik and Amanda Pade also finished third with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Mitty's Anita Athavale and Sami Kawahara.

Boys basketball

Menlo (1-0) opened its season with a 61-55 nonleague win over visiting Gunn on Tuesday night. Junior Beau Heidrich (22 points) and senior Blake Schultz (12) kept the Knights close until Menlo's defense took over in the second half.

Gunn's Peter Jordan, who led all scorers with 28 points, was held to nine points in the second half by Schultz while Heidrich scored 19 points after intermission to lead the Knights' comeback.

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