Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Crystal’s Bianca Sladewski

Sladewski stepped to the line with Crystal facing a 4-1 deficit in the race to 15, and went on a 10-point service run to put the Gryphons comfortably in control of the first state championship in program history.

“I do really like serving,” Sladewski said. “I’ve always practiced it, I’ve always enjoyed it.”

With just three seniors on Crystal’s roster, the junior has been relied upon as one of the team leaders this season, certainly in respect to defense. Gryphons head coach Chelby Spray, who coaches alongside assistant Gabby Firpo, refers to Sladewski as the team’s third coach.

This was critical to the growth of a Gryphons team that relied on several underclassman defenders in sophomore Erica Lin, and freshmen Kathy Zhang and Ellie Lee. None of them played like underclassmen through the postseason, mind you. In fact, Lee, a six-rotation outside hitter, also recorded a double-double in the state finals with 10 kills and 16 digs.

When Crystal got off to a rough start in the championship match, however — dropping the first set after a strong showing by Oceanside’s senior opposite hitter Faye Naotala — it was Sladewski’s poise that helped right the ship in a hurry.

“She really set the tone for them,” Spray said. “And just the way she was talking to them going into the second set, I knew she was going to make a huge difference for us.”

Sladewski had been helping set the tone all week. After Crystal brought home the CIF Division V Northern California championship from Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento last Tuesday, Sladewski went right to work scouting Oceanside. The junior said she and her teammates quickly collected as much film on the Division V Southern California champs as possible.

“Bianca and I, we had worked on it throughout the week, on what it really meant to have a live read off of a live read block,” Spray said.

The Gyphons implemented the scouting reports during their final day of practice on theier home court last Wednesday, an emotional practice that saw the team’s three seniors saying goodbye to their longtime home gymnasium. Then after flying into Santa Ana Thursday morning, the team traveled to Sage Hill High School in Newport Beach for one last run-through before Championship Friday.

The team was in good spirits on the bus ride to Santiago Canyon College in Orange for Friday’s championship showdown, enjoying sing-a-longs to Justin Bieber and Mary J. Blige classics. So, after Game 1 went sideways on the Gryphons, not only did Sladewski help to remind her teammates they had a strategy in place to contend with Naotala, but also of the work-hard, play-hard approach that had long been the backbone of Crystal’s success.

“They were much more lighthearted going into that second set and had that confidence rolling into the third set,” Spray said.

Naotala went on to score a match-high 24 kills, but Crystal made her work for them. The senior finished with a .186 hitting percentage, largely because of a tactical defensive switch to start Game 2. The 5-9 opposite hitter had been exacting line shots through the first set, and Sladewski and her young back-row counterparts were prepared to pivot.

Games 2 and 3 both went Crystal’s way. Then when Oceanside evened up the match in Game 4, Spray employed another tactical change. After running a 6-2 offense through the first four sets, Crystal shifted to the 5-1, utilizing senior setter Alexa Tarnarider all the way around.

Lin, the Gryphons’ other setter, had totaled 10 assists to that point. Tarnarider went on to total 22 assists.

“I think going into that fifth set we really wanted to motivate ourselves and keep ourselves uplifted,” Sladewski said. “We obviously had hope, but we don’t go in with any arrogance. We try not to give into that. So, I think we all understood ... in the fifth set we all had to execute early and keep communication up so we could finish the set.”

Sladewski certainly executed early. Not only did she fire four aces during her 10-point service run, she had Oceanside’s serve receive out of sorts on several other laser beams in the seams, including one that ended with junior middle Ella Beebe scoring a quick kill on an over dig.

With the momentum swinging, Spray said she could feel the emotion not only from the fans in attendance, but the players along the sideline.

“It’s funny because I could feel — for states it was different because the crowd was behind us — and I could really feel it emanating off the bench,” Spray said.

Still, Spray was intent on keeping her Gryphons focused on saving the celebrating until after taking care of business. That they did. Championship point required such focus, as Crystal was taken out of system by Oceanside’s serve. Zhang produced the serve receive, scrapping along the end line, relying on Sladewski to run down the pass. Sladewski got to it and placed a strong bump set off the left pin for Lee, who knocked down the kill to win it.

“In the last point, I think the main thing I remember, I just remember all my teammates running on to the court and dog-piling,” Sladewski said.

Sladewski’s serving exploits earned her a place in the state record books, as her 10 match aces tied for second in single-match CIF championship history, just two shy of the record set by Taryn Wright of St. Francis-Sacramento in 2005.

The junior libero, however, was more focused on the massive accomplishment achieved by her little Hillsborough private school with a mythical mascot that soared to the state championship.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Sladewski said. “I didn’t really have that extreme of a reaction to it because after seeing how our season was progressing ... we never had our expectations high. I would say just being part of school history is really exciting, and we’re all just really honored being able to hold a high position, for our school, with the team together.”