An early start after a Friday night Hallows Eve proved a tall order for Carlmont in Saturday’s Central Coast Section Division I volleyball opener. But senior setter Emi Sim saved some serving tricks to treat the Lady Scots to a strong finish.
Sim opened the decisive Game 4 with a 12-point service run to lead No. 5 Carlmont (17-11) to a 21-25, 25-9, 25-21, 25-8 comeback win at home over No. 12 Branham-San Jose. It marks the second straight year the Scots have won their playoff opener.
Serving leadoff for Carlmont for the last two seasons, Sim enjoyed her longest run since she was a sophomore. Exploiting the back right corner consistently, the senior fired two aces during the run, and finished with her third ace later in the set to force match point.
“I think it’s really important to get a head start at the beginning of matches,” Sim said. “So, I think when we get a serving run, it really helps to bring the energy up and it helps us to be a lot more consistent.”
The Scots got off to a slow start in the match, however, letting Game 1 leads of 4-1 and 16-13 get away as Branham (17-15) found a rhythm with a back-row blast by outside hitter Gunjan Joshi, before the sophomore rotated into the front to finish off the set running attacks off the left side.
“I think the first set, it wasn’t too bad,” Carlmont head coach Sergio Smirnoff said. “I think we were a little too relaxed for a playoff game.”
Carlmont’s Emi Sim during her 12-point service run Saturday to start Game 4.
Terry Bernal/Daily Journal
The vaunted Carlmont block was up to the challenge. Senior opposite Chloe Harris totaled six match blocks, while senior middle Noelle Pecavar overcame a slow start to add three blocks.
“I think this season [the block] has really served us well in a lot of matches,” Harris said. “It’s kept us not only going with the momentum, but also it’s given us more energy because it’s like we can be up there and we can fight. Even when the ball isn’t on our side, we can prevent it from ever reaching our side.”
After letting the opening set slip away, Carlmont shook up its attack, switching to a 6-2 offense in Game 2. Running senior setter Clare Wang in the back row was the spark Carlmont’s outside hitters — seniors Alyssa Ison and Brooke Toomasson — needed to wake up.
“Sometimes we let it slip away in the first set,” Harris said. “But then once we get the momentum going, we carry it throughout the game. And we make sure to always play at a certain level where, sure we can make some mistakes, we can give ourselves leeway, but at the same time to perform our best.”
The Scots never trailed in Game 2, with Ison tipping into the campfire to give her team an early 9-3 lead. Ison recorded five of her match-high 14 kills in the second set, and later served up an ace to push the runaway lead to 20-7. Toomasson totaled 14 kills to share the match-high, and finished Game 2 with two crisp attacks, a cross-shot off the left side to make it 23-7, and finishing at set point with a blast to exact the backline.
Game 3 saw Pecavar set the early tone on the block. Branham stayed close through the late going, but couldn’t quite catch the Scots as Toomasson rotated up front for the endgame. With Carlmont clinging to a 21-20 advantage, Toomasson rifled a kill of the left side. The Bruins struck back, as freshman setter Evie Park scored on the second-touch sneak attack to make it 22-21, but Carlmont caught a break when Branham served into the net to force a side-out.
Carlmont sophomore libero Ellyssa Won followed with the play of the match, storming across the back row to defend a Branham boomer with an all-out diving dig, with Harris taking advantage on a roll shot off the right side to force set point. Branham was then whistled for an overreach to put the Scots up 2 sets to 1.
Sim then stepped to the service line for her brilliant display to all but put the match out of reach.
“It was kind of a perfect storm situation for us,” Smirnoff said. “A good server who is comfortable serving there, with the weaker passer there. So, we took advantage of it.”
Harris finished with nine kills to go with her match-high blocking numbers. And while many of the Scots went out Friday night to celebrate Halloween, Harris opted to lay low. Instead of trick-or-treating, she stayed home to watch a scary movie with some friends, the 2022 film “Smile,” then turned in early.
“I was coming out sick,” Harris said. “I’m still a little bit sick right now. But I was super excited to play this team, and it turned out to be a really good match.”
With the win, the Scots advance to the Division I quarterfinals, where they will travel to No. 4 Los Gatos (12-12) Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. start.
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The Wildcats were 0-3 against Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division teams this year. The two programs last met in 2019 in the CCS Division I semifinals, with Los Gatos winning in four sets. The 2019 Wildcats went on to fall in the CCS finals to Gunn-Palo Alto, but extended their postseason to win a CIF Northern California Division II regional championship.
Open Division
Valley Christian 3, Sacred Heart Prep 1
No. 5 Sacred Heart Prep (22-7) dropped its CCS opener 25-22, 25-12, 20-25, 25-17 at No. 4 Valley Christian-San Jose (18-4). By virtue of qualifying for the Open Division tournament, the Gators now advance to the CIF Northern California playoffs, opening Tuesday, Nov. 11. Valley Christian advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round at No. 1 Mitty.
Division I
Sequoia 3, Alisal 0
No. 7 Sequoia (21-14) cruised to its first CCS playoff win since 2014 with a 25-11, 25-17, 25-12 sweep at home over No. 10 Alisal-Salinas (19-11). The Ravens now advance to the Division I quarterfinals, and will travel to No. 2 Salinas (23-6) Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start. The two teams met twice during the regular season, with Sequoia getting swept in best-of-three tournament play both times.
Division II
Santa Clara 3, San Mateo 0
No. 12 San Mateo (11-12) saw its season end with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 loss at No. 5 Santa Clara (17-8). The Bearcats were one of four teams to qualify for the CCS playoffs out of the PAL Ocean Division after finishing in a three-way tie for second place with El Camino and Mills. The Bruins now travel to No. 4 Leland-San Jose (21-7) for Tuesday’s quarterfinal at 7 p.m.
Division III
Santa Cruz 3, Mills 0
Freshman Charlise Lee fired four service aces, but it was not enough as No. 12 Mills (16-17) was swept 25-19, 25-13, 25-22 in the opening round of the CCS postseason at No. 5 Santa Cruz (20-10). Junior middle Milla Hassan added nine kills and three blocks for the Lady Vikings. The Cardinals advance to the tourney quarterfinals with a trip to No. 4 Monterey.
Division IV
Half Moon Bay 3, King’s Academy 2
The No. 8-seed Cougars (14-16) won a five-set thriller, going to extra points in the fifth set for a 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 18-16 victory at No. 9 King’s Academy-Sunnyvale (18-9). It marks HMB’s first five-setter of the season. The Cougars now advance to the tournament quarterfinals with a showdown at No. 1 Scotts Valley set for Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Division V
Nueva School 3, Notre Dame-Salinas 0
The No. 9 Mavericks (11-8) hosted despite drawing the lower seed, and cruised to a 25-13, 25-20, 25-14 sweep over No. 8 Notre Dame-Salinas (21-6). Nueva now advances to the quarterfinals for an all-Private School Athletic League showdown to face No. 1 Summit Shasta, in Daly City, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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