Aragon falls to Valley Christian in extra-points final of host volleyball tournament

In three years at M-A, Whitmill led the Bears to two Central Coast Section Division I championships, including Wilcox’s senior season in 2014.

“It was nice seeing Katie,” Whitmill said. “I hadn’t seen her in a long time. It was really good.”

Valley Christian ultimately paired with host Aragon (16-9) in the tournament finals for a thrilling 25-16, 21-25, 19-17 victory. The third and final set went into extra points after Aragon forced championship point at 14-12.

Warriors libero Natasha Hill changed the tide when she stepped to the service line.

“Fortunately, in our league (the West Catholic Athletic League) we play a lot of good teams, and we find ourselves, unfortunately, behind a lot,” Whitmill said. “So, it’s not something that we’re uncomfortable with, being in game that are 2- or 3-point games, being on the wrong side of those. The good thing about having a lot of tough competition is they’ve learned to kind of be comfortable in those moments and not panic, which kind of really helped them today. I think they stayed calm and took advantage of the opportunities that they had.”

Hill was the picture of calm as the sophomore hit some tough float serves to the back line that were difficult for Aragon’s serve receive to judge. The result was wonky passing and a quick comeback surge, navigated by setters Teya Nguyen and Annie Joo, for the Warriors.

“We were just trying to stay focused and push ahead, and just trying to finish out the game,” Aragon senior Jessica Castroviejo said. “But they’re a good serving team. We were in a good rotation, but I think it was just difficult for us to get the passes to execute the hits.”

This marks the third time Valley Christian and Aragon have met in the finals of the annual tourney. The Warriors have won all three, including in 2016 and ’19. Valley Christian also defeated Aragon in pool play in 2017.

“One too many,” Aragon head coach Annette Gennaro-Trimble said, rolling her eyes at the Lady Dons’ track record against the Warriors.

Road to the finals

Ten teams participated in the daylong tournament. Hillsdale took third place, downing Menlo-Atherton in the third-place match. Half Moon Bay, Sequoia, Summit Shasta, Mercy-Burlingame, Salinas and Tamalpais rounded out the field. The tourney was originally slated to feature 12 teams, but Woodside and Balboa both canceled.

Valley Christian got past Hillsdale in the semifinals with 25-21, 22-25, 15-6 victory.

“We were struggling in the semifinal, and the way they came out in the third set and just really took charge of that third set early — Hillsdale was playing really good volleyball today — so that was big,” Whitmill said.

Aragon swept its first three matches of the day, defeating Summit Shasta and Mercy-Burlingame in pool play, before taking down M-A in the semifinals 25-13, 25-21. After dropping Game 1 to Valley Christian, the Dons rallied back in Game 2 with some classic sideline motivation on the sideline beforehand.

“We just talked with each other, like: ‘We’ve got this! We believe in each other!’” Aragon senior Isabella Bartlewski said. “A little bit of screaming. Just getting excited and starting these cheers. And I think that just really helped bring up our energy, which is what we needed.”

Three-set battle

Aragon paced the lead late in the second set, with a highlight kill off the left side from Bartlewski on a high arcing assist from junior setter Hunter Kwan.

But late in the third set, Valley Christian’s tough serving kept Aragon out of system. Many of the Game 3 exchanges during extra points were prolonged, scrappy rallies with clutch digs on both sides, but consistently kept the Dons on the defensive.

During Aragon’s tournament matchups of yesteryear with Valley Christian, the Dons often thrived on scrappy rallies. But for this year’s more tactical Aragon team, one that has ascended to a second-place tie in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, scrappy isn’t the way they prefer to play.

“Not necessarily,” Castroviejo said. “We like to stay ahead and just finish out. But it makes it a fun game, it makes it memorable, and it just shows the fight we have in us. And we always fight to the end, no matter what.”