Crystal soars into CCS volleyball finals for first time since 2013

The No. 2-seed Gryphons (21-4) rallied for a 25-18, 22-25, 25-12, 25-13 win at home Thursday over No. 3 Santa Catalina-Monterey in the CCS Division V semifinals. Crystal now advances to the Division V championship round for the third time in program history. Ten years ago, the Gryphons finished runners-up, after winning their only CCS volleyball crown in 2010.

“I knew we had the potential and I’m extremely happy to see their individual growth,” Spray said. “We lost three really big players last year. Their leadership and their personalities, it was a big loss for us as a program, and our upperclassmen have stepped up fully. And we have three starting freshmen that their personal growth and their mental toughness has been at the forefront ... and they’ve really pushed themselves all season. So we knew the potential was there, but we knew it wouldn’t come without hard work.”

Crystal’s bread and butter is its back-row defense, and junior libero Bianca Sladewski is central to the team’s success.

Sladewski has enjoyed quite a recovery in recent weeks, as have the Gryphons. The team held on for a West Bay Athletic League Skyline Division co-championship, finishing the season in a first-place tie with Castilleja, both with 10-2 league records. Crystal, however, won its first 10 league matches before dropping its last two to Castilleja and the King’s Academy.

The Gryphons were bit by the injury bug through the last week of the regular season. But the biggest issue was with Sladewski, who was in the process of having her vision checked, an odyssey that saw her prescribed new contact lenses in recent weeks.

“She said: ‘I can’t really see,’” Spray said. “Got contacts and a world of difference.”

Since that revelation, Crystal has again been humming along.

Junior middle blocker Ella Beebe is at the forefront, blossoming into a splendid front-row player. Last year, as a sophomore, Beebe was promoted to the varsity team for the CCS playoffs, a one-and-done performance for Crystal. This year, she and the Gryphons have seen markedly different results, sweeping through Tuesday’s quarterfinal opener against No. 10 Oakwood, before figuring out Santa Catalina in four sets in the semis.

The 5-11 Beebe fronted the attack Thursday with a team-high 14 kills and a match-high five blocks, often executing improvisational plays to perfection. At least, they seemed improvisational. But on plays where she would mistime a block attempt, only to come down flat-footed and return a volley over the net for a kill — to the chagrin of Santa Catalina, she did this twice — there was more intent involved than it appeared on the surface.

“It’s funny, because we practice those situations,” Spray said. “And at practice, there’s like: ‘This seems really weird.’ ... And we did that all yesterday.”

It helps that Crystal’s front row naturally pushes toward the middle. This is out of necessity, as the team doesn’t have a prototypical pin hitter. The Gryphons scored just seven kills off the left side, and a sharp tool by Ellie Lee early in Game 4 was the only one that had pure power behind it.

But the Gryphons do mix things up quite well, and can effectively interchange their middles and opposite hitters. Senior opposite hitter Hannah Meier totaled eight kills, while mixing in attacks through the middle and off the left side.

“Our front row is just so flexible,” Beebe said. “I’m so excited about this team because our ability to interchange the front row off the bat is so amazing, and you don’t see it a lot, in a lot of teams.”

It took two sets for Crystal to find its groove against Santa Catalina. Cougars outside hitter Sofia Luna was giving the Gryphons fits, especially in the early going. The senior totaled a match-high 15 kills in her final varsity match, including five in a Game 2 win.

But even toward the end of Game 2, with Crystal pulling close at 23-22 before Santa Catalina pulled away, the Gryphons defense started finding its footing. Crystal freshman Erica Lin, before rotating off the floor, produced a big dig off a Luna bolt to help Crystal make it 23-21. The Gryphons pulled within 1 behind rangy back-row digs from Lee and Kathy Zhang. The Cougars went on to close out the set with back-to-back kills from Aleasha Kalinski and Luna.

Crystal’s defense, though, did not let up from there.

“I think for defense especially, we had a few rocky moments and we were able to acknowledge that and change immediately,” Sladewski said. “I think we had a really good mindset. We were able to stay positive. We were able to encourage the player next to us and in front of us, and talk through it. Because there were moments where our block and our defensive line would break up a little bit, but we were still set in our own right.”

Game 3 saw some tremendous defense, allowing the Gryphons to overcome an early scare with Santa Catalina jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Gabriella Tomatis responded with two early kills bouncing between the middle and right side. Blocks from Beebe and sophomore middle Petra Hennessey would make the score 11-6 and 12-7 respectively, and Crystal would use two 4-0 runs in the set to build a strong lead.

What really turned the tide, though, was Crystal’s serving prowess through the final two sets. The Gryphons relied on aggressive fastball serves, and scored 10 aces through games 3 and 4. Sladewski peppered a match-high six aces, including four in the closing set.

“I didn’t miss any serves today,” Sladewski said. “And I think some of our players who (normally) miss one, miss two, we didn’t miss any. So, I think that was a really good part to change our momentum for that game.”

Crystal will now get a rematch with No. 4 Castilleja in the CCS finals. Casti knocked off top-seed Summit Shasta in five sets 19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-10 in Thursday’s semifinal in Daly City. The Division V championship is scheduled for Saturday at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. Start time was not available at press time.

Division II

No. 1 Aragon (22-13) advances to its fourth CCS championship match in the last five postseasons, going to five sets for a 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12 victory over No. 4 San Mateo (18-14). The Lady Dons will take on No. 6 Woodside in the CCS Division II finals.

Woodside (20-9) scored its second straight upset in Thursday’s semifinals, taking down No. 2 Monta Vista in Cupertino in five sets 23-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-19, 15-13. This marks the first CCS finals appearance in program history for the Wildcats.

Division III

No. 1 Burlingame (26-4) and first-year head coach Hannah Korslund are headed to the CCS Division III finals after a 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 sweep of No. 5 Riordan (12-14). The Panthers will take on No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral for the championship Saturday at Gunn High School. Start time was not available at press time.

Division IV

No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont (17-10) knocked off top-seed Carmel (20-5) in a 25-21, 24-26, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11 comeback thriller. Sophomore outside hitter Gia Rivera led the Tigers with 25 kills, while senior Karly Bordin recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs, along with three service aces. Junior Paige Lambert added 11 kills. Senior setter Jessica Ai totaled six aces, while junior libero Adrianna Agresti added three aces to go with her team-high 22 digs. NDB will face No. 2 Harbor in Saturday’s finals at Gunn High School.

No. 3 Mercy-Burlingame (22-10) was eliminated by Harbor (26-8) in four sets 25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 27-25.