Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal Sacred Heart Prep celebrates with the CCS Division IV championship trophy after sweeping top-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas Saturday evening in San Jose.

The Gators did not waste the opportunity. Though the No. 3 seed, the Gators were clearly the superior team as the dismantled top-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas, sweeping the Spirit 25-15, 26-24, 25-22 at Independence High in San Jose to claim the Division IV title.

“We played up and down all year long. The last week and a half, if we play with energy, we’re hard to beat,” said Sacred Heart Prep coach Damien Hardy, who won a CCS title in just his second season as the Gators’ coach.

“The girls bought into it.”

In the Division I championship match, No. 2-seed Menlo-Atherton was swept by top-seeded Salinas, 25-19, 25-16, 25-22.

Led by the energetic Jesse Ebner, the Gators (23-10) completed a remarkable run through CCS. They started with a win over archrival Menlo School and then knocked off No. 2 Mercy-Burlingame before dropping top-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas (25-6).

And the Gators did it in style as they got a complete effort from everybody in every phase of the game: Serving was strong, hitting was steady and their blocking was stellar.

Sacred Heart Prep set the tone in the first game as the Crushed the Spirit, 25-15. The Gators did not commit a single unforced error while finishing with 13 kills. By comparison, Notre Dame committed 10 errors, which happened to be the difference in the game.

The first game was close early, when a kill from Notre Dame’s Liz Wyrsch tied the match at 6. The Gators responded with an 11-2 run to take a commanding 15-8 lead. They eventually built a 21-10 advantage and took Game 1 on a Kate Kerwin kill.

While in Game 2 the Gators came back to earth – they finished with 10 errors – they still had enough to overcome Notre Dame. The Gators’ block really heated up and although the Spirit kept it close throughout, kills from Sarah Dashbach and Ebner gave the Gators the win.

The Gators caught a break with the score tied at 23. The Gators hit the ball long but the referee called Notre Dame for a net violation to give the point – and the lead to Sacred Heart Prep. Although the Spirit tied the match at 24, the Gators won the final two points to take a two games to none lead.

“[We] stayed steady. We stuck to the game plan,” Hardy said.

He said he only got to scout Notre Dame for about half a match during the CCS semifinals, but in that short amount of time, he identified two of the Spirit’s favorite plays.

“Block their line (attacks) and flood the angles with our diggers,” Hardy said of the game plan. “I noticed they liked to hit the line and the seam.”

The Gators worked the plan to near perfection as the Spirit gradually began to accept the inevitable. In Game 3, the Gators did not let up, sprinting out to a 5-0 lead. They eventually built a 20-12 advantage and even though the Spirit won 10 of the next 15 points, the Gators could afford it. A Notre Dame hitting error on match point gave the championship to the Gators.

“Our setting was huge, our hitting was great, incredible blocking at the net,” Hardy said. “It was a whole team win.”

Girls’ Volleyball

CCS championship

Division IV

No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep def. No. 1 Notre Dame-Salinas 25-15, 26-24, 25-22 (Highlights: SHP – Ebner 14 kills; Renschler 11 kills; Dashbach 8 kills. ND – H. Tamagni 10 kills; Powers 9 kills; Gasperson 8 kills). Records – Sacred Heart Prep 23-10; Notre Dame-Salinas 25-6.