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After winning the first two sets Tuesday against Lowell, the Sacred Heart Prep volleyball team looked to be on its way to the state finals.
But Lowell, the No. 6 seed in the Northern California Division III playoffs, snuck back into the match with a win in the third set. And once the door was opened a crack the top-seeded Gators were never able to close it. Lowell won the fourth and fifth sets and celebrated a come-from-behind NorCal championship.
In the Division I final, host Campolindo needed four sets to get past Menlo-Atherton 25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 25-14.
Campolindo (27-6) advances into the state finals, meeting Vista Murrieta (24-11) on Friday.
The Cardinals will play South Pasadena for the state Division III championship.
“I told them after the second set that they get to start over at zero-zero,’’ Lowell coach Kelly Sung said. “That really resonated with them.’’
SHP (26-12), utilizing its size advantage at the net, looked to be in control early on. The Gators won the first set in a hard-fought battle 29-27 with an ace by Millie Muir providing the winning point. Then a kill by Mele Langi gave them the decider in the second set 25-21.
But Lowell, which had already beaten the second and third seeds, started playing with a whole lot of confidence and momentum after winning the third set 25-20.
The Cardinals won the last two sets 25-21 and 15-11.
“It’s crazy, I still can’t believe it myself,’’ Sung said.
It was a tough set of circumstances for the Sacred Heart Prep players to come to grips with.
“Our mindset was that it was ours for the taking,’’ said senior standout Elena Radeff. “We fought hard to the end, I’m proud of everyone on the team. We can hold our heads up high.’’
Radeff, who will play collegiately at Santa Clara University, led the Gators with 21 kills and 15 digs. Reagen Smith, heading to Brown, had 16 kills and Langi had eight.
Leia Bonifacio contributed 13 digs, Sarah Lin 12 and Muir 11. Lin had 31 assists and Muir 30. Muir and Evelyn Sutton had three aces apiece.
M-A loses six quality seniors in top scorer Natalie Grover, starting libero Bella Shermis, setter Mariah Grover, hitter Olivia Lang, Kat Armer and middle blocker Marit Hoyem.
That may seem like a lot to overcome for coach Jairo Sierra but he will have a solid nucleus returning in setters Rachel Park and Solana Cecil, outside hitters Emma Spindt and Semaijah Ix-Siu, middle blocker Julia Kahle and team co-captain Piper Mueller.
There are others waiting in the wings for the chance to shine. M-A has lost great players in the past and still seems to compete at a high level every year. The Bears have reached the NorCal tournament in five of the past six years.
Against Campolindo, Natalie Grover led the team with 11 kills, Spindt had nine, Hoyem added six, Lang contributed four and Ix-Siu and Kahle combined for another four kills. Setters Mariah Grover and Park each had 17 assists. The team also finished with five aces.
On defense, Shermis recorded 24 digs, Natalie Grover had seven, Park and Spindt each had six, and Hoyem added four. Hoyem had four of the team’s seven blocks, Ix-Siu added a pair and Spindt had one.