Aragon back into CCS semis

Aragon head volleyball coach Annette Gennaro-Trimble said she still gets nervous heading into the first Central Coast Section match of the season.

This despite the fact the Dons have been to the semifinals five straight years and have won two of the last three CCS Division II championships.

Tuesday match against visiting Westmont came with even more dangers as the Dons had been off for a week, getting a first-round bye Saturday.

“It’s always nerve-wracking, first [match] of CCS,” Gennaro-Trimble said. “About half my team … haven’t been to CCS.”

Turns out, all the fretting wasn’t necessary. While ninth-seeded Westmont did not go down without a fight, go down the Warriors did, as the top-seeded Dons showed no rust in a 25-21, 25-9, 25-17 sweep into the Division II semifinals for the sixth straight season.

Aragon will face the winner of No. 5 Santa Clara and No. 4 Leland Thursday at a time and place to be determined.

“Westmont is a good team,” Gennaro-Trimble said. “They have good hitters.”

But Westmont (16-17) simply could not keep up with the relentless offensive assault from Aragon (24-7). And with neither team giving away free points via hitting, serving and setting errors, it put the onus on the offense — and defense — to finish rallies themselves.

Which was easier said than done Tuesday as both teams were on top of their games. The match featured long rallies throughout — rallies during which the ball changed sides of the net 10, 12 times and even more.

But more often than not, Aragon came out on the winning end.

“There were a lot of long rallies and that’s good volleyball. That’s fun volleyball to watch when you don’t care who wins,” Gennaro-Trimble said.

But in the end, the Dons’ methodical, clinical finishing was too much for the Warriors to handle. Especially Aragon’s dynamic duo of Poppy McKenzie and Emi Kunkel. McKenzie finished with a match-high 18 kills, as she really poured it on in Games 2 and 3. In the second set, she had four kills in a seven-point stretch, turning a 4-2 lead into an 11-3 advantage.

McKenzie would finish with six kills in the second set and added seven more in the third.

Kunkel added 13 kills and five aces, and was steady throughout the match. She had nearly half her kills in the second set, along with three of her service aces.

But where the Dons really made their presence felt was on defense. In addition to her 13 kills, Kunkel added a team-high 22 digs. Sosefina Tatola had 15 digs and McKenzie nine as Aragon finished with 62 for the match.

“That’s a lot,” said Aragon assistant coach Meliame Hala’ufia.

“Defense did really well tonight,” Gennaro-Trimble said. “[We] feed off the defense.”

Aragon’s setters did a nearly flawless job of running the offense, as Gabriella Xiao and Devyn Lee combined for 37 assists — 21 and 16, respectively.

Aragon needed to play well because Westmont certainly made the Dons earn it. Every time it seemed the Dons were ready to put the game away, the Warriors would dig in their heels and mount a comeback.

The Dons were up 11-6 in the first set after Kunkel and Haley Chun combined for a block and point and the Dons pushed it to 13-7 on a Caitlyn Robertson killed.

Robertson finished six kills.

But Westmont responded by winning four of the next five points as the Warriors closed to 14-12. Aragon eventually pushed its lead to 20-16 when Kunkel slid across the face of the net to come up with a block for a kill, but Westmont didn’t go away, eventually closing to 22-19 and after an Aragon hitting error, the Warriors were down just 23-21.

But a McKenzie killed followed by a Westmont hitting error gave the Dons the first set.

The second set was similar to the first. Aragon built an early 11-3 lead, but the Warriors won three straight points to close to 11-6.

But the Dons took off from there. Back-to-back Westmont errors opened the door to the set-deciding run as Aragon won 14 of the last 17 points for a 2-0 set lead.

Game 3 started just like the first two, with Aragon building a hefty early lead. When Robertson put down her second kill of the set, the Dons were up 10-2.

And then the Warriors came roaring back, winning the next six points to close to 10-8.

But the Dons responded with a run of their own, reeling off seven straight points to take a 16-9 lead before ending the match on a Toli Fa kill.

CCS volleyball roundup

Division I

Menlo-Atherton 3, Hollister 0

No. 1 Menlo-Atherton (23-9) took care of business, sweeping at home 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 against No. 8 Hollister (20-12). The Bears now advance to the CCS semifinals Thursday to host No. 4 Los Gatos at 7 p.m.

Los Gatos 3, Carlmont 0

No. 5 Carlmont (17-12) saw its season come to an end, falling 25-13, 25-22, 26-24 at No. 4 Los Gatos (14-12). It marks the second straight year the Lady Scots have advanced to the CCS quarterfinals. Next up, Los Gatos will travel to Menlo-Atherton for Thursday’s semifinals.

Sequoia 3, Salinas 0

No. 7 Sequoia (22-14) scored a major upset, sweeping to the win 25-23, 25-23, 25-23 at No. 2 Salinas (23-7). The Ravens had lost twice to Salinas in the regular season, getting swept twice in best-of-three tournament matches. Sequoia now advances to Thursday’s semifinals, and will travel to the winner between No. 3 Milpitas and No. 6 Cupertino.

Division II

Burlingame 3, Sobrato 0

The No. 3 Panthers (19-13) earned the win in their first playoff match on their new home court, sweeping 25-20, 25-12, 25-20 past No.. 11 Ann Sobrato-Morgan Hill (15-19). Burlingame now advances to the Division II semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m. to take on the winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal between No. 2 Monta Vista-Cupertino and No. 7 Lincoln-San Jose, with the higher seed hosting.

Division III

Capuchino 3, Soquel 1

Daniella Roberov scored the final kill off the left side and the No. 3 Lady Mustangs (24-4) rallied back on their home court for a 19-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 victory over No. Soquel (13-14). Cap now advances to Thursday’s semifinals at No. 2 Riordan-SF at 7 p.m.

Division IV

Scotts Valley 3, Half Moon Bay 0

No. 8 Half Moon Bay (14-17) pushed it to extra-points in Game 3, but ultimately got swept 25-19, 25-20, 27-25 at No. 1 Scotts Valley (22-5). The Falcons now advance to the semifinals to host No. 5 Harker.

Harker 3, Notre Dame-Belmont 1

The No. 4 Tigers (20-11) and first-year head coach Mark Piorkowski saw their season come to an end with a 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18 loss at home to No. 5 Harker-San Jose (14-11). The Eagles will now travel to No. 1 Scotts Valley for Thursday’s semifinal.

Menlo 3, Pacific Grove 1

No. 6 Menlo (13-17) brings home an upset win from the road, rallying back for a 21-25, 25-18, 29-27, 25-19 at No. 3 Pacific Grove (25-7). The Lady Knights will now travel to No. 2 Harbor-Santa Cruz for Thursday’s semifinal round, after Harbor swept No. 7 Carmel.

Division V

Crystal 3, St. Francis-Watsonville 0

No. 6 Crystal (8-13) opened its postseason by scoring an upset, sweeping on the road 25-18, 25-14, 25-21 at No. 3 St. Francis-Watsonville (19-8). The Gryphons now advance to the semifinals, and will travel to No. 2 Palma-Salinas Thursday for a 7 p.m. start.

Summit Shasta 3, Nueva 0

No. 1 Summit Shasta (24-8) took care of business against its PSAL rival, sweeping at home 25-23, 25-18, 25-9 against No. 9 Nueva (11-9). The Black Bears will now host Thursday against No. 4 Santa Catalina-Monterey at 7 p.m.