Aragon volleyball on a mission

Tuesday night, No.2-seed Aragon (27-10 overall) conjured plenty of momentum in the opening round of the CIF Division II tournament, navigating a Game 1 loss to overcome No. 15 Rocklin in four sets 22-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-23.

“I think we’re so empowered because we were so close last year to making it to state,” Aragon sophomore setter Gabi Oaks said. “This year we just feel like we’re going to get there and we’re going to come together as a team. We’ve just made it so far, and we’ve just persevered through so many injuries that we’re going to come back with a championship this year.”

Oaks and her fellow setter, freshman Anau Tongamoa, had to get creative to get the offense going though. Rocklin (24-13) came to play, crushing 16 team kills in the opening set, and excelling on defense as well. A 21-21 tie saw Rocklin middle Allison Mick score a block to set off a 3-point run before setter Gracie Adams finished off Game 1 scoring a kill off a surprise dump shot.

Aragon was held to 13 kills in the first set, including just five off the left side.

“The energy finally picked up for us,” Aragon head coach Annette Gennaro said. “They’re a good team, and when you play a good team, they can expose your weaknesses. … But we overcame it.”

That didn’t happed right away in Game 2. The Dons were starting to see shots fall by powering through the middle — junior middle hitter Elle Sears scored five of her 13 match kills in the set — but still found themselves trailing late at 23-20.

Rocklin was called for an over-the-net violation to force side-out. And with it, sophomore Skylar Rubinstein rotated into the back row. But that didn’t stop her from scoring a long kill on the following point — this made possible by an amazing front row dig by senior outside hitter Lydia Manu on a tight cross-shot by Rocklin senior Ivana Erlandsen — to close the deficit to 23-22. More importantly, the first of Rubinstein’s two match kills seemed to enliven her teammates on the floor.

“Just seeing her hit my set and just kill it, that meant so much to me,” Oaks said.

Manu then powered a kill off the left side to tie it, and Aragon went on to avert two Rocklin set points at 24-23 and 25-24. Sears then came up with a clutch kill through the middle, finding the back corner on a smart shot to tie it 25-25. Manu followed with a long cross shot off the left side to force Aragon’s first set point of the night. Then Oaks finished it off from the service line with an ace to tie the match at 1 set apiece.

“I think they (Aragon) picked up their defense,” Rocklin head coach Dave Muscarella said. “… I think that they beat us at the net, with their net play; I thought they did a really nice job blocking. And then I thought their defense, they just weren’t going to let anything drop. They really played hard and went after it. I think we did too, but I think they just outperformed in those two areas.”

Then in Game 3, opposite hitter Sabine Milton got in on the fun. The 5-11 junior scored a team-high 14 match kills, and really gave Rocklin fits with her varying shots off the right side.

“We really have been working on our shots with our front-row players, and not just power shots,” Gennaro said. “It just took a little while for us to figure it out.”

The Dons swung an early lead in the third set and held it most of the way. But the lockdown defense on both sides of the net was the catalyst in several prolonged rallied, including one of the most decisive points to give Aragon a 22-18 lead. After Oaks dug up an early attack bolt by Mick, the rally took on a life of its own, only to see the point at long last decided when Adams was called for a double-contact violation, awarding the point to Aragon.

“It was a really fun rally,” Muscarella said. “And it was tough to see a fun rally like that end with what I thought was a marginal call.

Muscarella was given a quick yellow card for contesting the call.

“I just felt like she made a really athletic move to the ball, and that’s what the rulebook states is, if she’s making an athletic play, they’re supposed to let them play on,” Muscarella said. “And I didn’t think the up ref let that take place.”

Aragon closed out the third set on a 5-1 run. But Rocklin wouldn’t back down. Even after Aragon responded to a 12-12 tie with a 5-point run in Game 4, Rocklin fired back closing to within one point at five different junctures, including at 24-23 when Aragon service faulted.

The Dons then turned to Manu, who used the athletic vertical leap she’d been displaying all night to fire a shot into the Rocklin double block, tooling for the kill to finish off the victory.

“Right when I hit it, I felt it, I was like — ‘that’s good,’” Manu said. “But, you know, don’t stop playing. But once I saw it tip off and go out, I knew we had it.”

Rocklin sophomore middle Georgia Remmers scored a match-high 21 kills. Erlandsen added 17.

Manu added 13 kills to give the Dons three players in double-digit kills.

With the win, Aragon advances to Round 2 of the CIF Division II bracket. The Dons will host No. 7 Branson Thursday at 6 p.m.

Division I

Menlo-Atherton 3, Menlo 2

No. 2 M-A (24-6) got past crosstown rival No. 15 Menlo (18-14) in a five-set thriller 21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13. Outside hitters Emma Spindt (23 kills, 17 digs) and Natalie Grover (19 kills, 10 digs) led the way. The Bears continued to serve tough, scoring 15 aces, paced by Spindt with five.

M-A advances to Round 2 to host No. 10 Nevada Union-Grass Valley Thursday at 6 p.m.

Elsewhere, No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont (27-8) swept 25-16, 25-14, 25-20 past No. 11 Tracy. The Tigers advance to host No. 3 Clovis West-Fresno (29-11) Thursday at 6 p.m.

Division II

Lincoln 3, Carlmont 1

No. 12 Carlmont (21-14) saw its season come to an end with an 18-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 loss to No. 5 Lincoln (27-9).

Division III

Sacred Heart Prep, Hillsdale and Burlingame all advance

No. 1 SHP (24-11) took care of business 25-16, 25-12, 25-17 against Madera South (23-19). The Gators will now host Vacaville in Round 2 action.

No. 2 Burlingame (24-11) swept 25-14, 25-15, 25-22 past West Valley-Cottonwood (30-8). Next up, the Lady Panthers host No. 7 Hilmar.

No. 4 Hillsdale (20-12) swept 25-21, 25-11, 25-19 past No. 13 Foothill-Palo Cedro (18-12). The Lady Knights were led by a double-double by sophoore Victoria Vanos (14 kills, 11 digs). Hillsdale now advances to host No. 5 Christopher.

All Division III matches Thursday begin at 6 p.m.

Division V

Nueva 3, East Nicolaus 0

No. 2 Nueva School (23-8) swept 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 past No. 15 East Nicolaus (15-9) and into Round 2. The Mavericks will now host No. 7 Convent & Stuart Hall-SF Thursday at 6 p.m.