Hillsdale takes down Christian Brothers in second round of Nor Cal Division I volleyball playoffs

Since then, Hillsdale (25-2) has been on quite an upswing. After Tuesday’s five-set win over San Ramon, the No. 3-seed Knights took down No. 11 Christian Brothers-Sacramento (30-7) in four sets 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 on their home court Thursday night.

“It’s been exciting,” Hillsdale head coach Dwight Crump said. “To watch these girls execute, to watch them just dominate and have that fight till they have no more fight, it shows you they want to win and continue playing — awesome.”

The Dean & Vanos show continued to roll. Hillsdale’s star seniors continued blasting away with razor-fine precision. Senior outside hitter Jessica Dean scored a match-high 24 kills, while senior outside hitter Victoria Vanos added 22 kills. And the Knights did not commit a hitting error in the opening set.

But with the scare from Tuesday’s CIF playoff opener still looming, Hillsdale had to punch with Christian Brothers to take control of the match early in Game 2. The Falcons, down 1 set to 0, kept pace by tying it 10 on a service ace by senior Gillian Hurley.

But the Knights answered right back. The Falcons followed by running their attack through the middle, and Hillsdale middle blocker Stefanie Elgaard was ready for it. The senior earned a solo block to give the Knights an 11-10 advantage. She then followed by running her own attack through the middle, firing a coffin-corner kill to put her team up by 2.

“When they tied it, we were getting a little nervous,” Elgaard said. “But when we got those two points, I think we really amped it up and we were like — we have it; we have the energy right now; let’s capitalize on it; let’s get on a run; let’s take the set.”

The Knights never again trailed in the set — overcoming some raspberry drama for Dean. The senior skinned her elbow while going for a diving dig early in the set. Because her left elbow was bleeding mildly, she had to have it taped up. The initial tape job didn’t take, however, and she was forced to sub out for two rotations, the first time she has come off the floor during the postseason.

Later in the match, the tape was wound so tight, her arm started going numb. So, between games 2 and 3, she had it retaped and got back into the swing of things. But Elgaard and company held down the fort until she got back up to speed.

“Jess and Victoria, they’re amazing,” Elgaard said. “They’ve got amazing kills. As a middle, I don’t get set as much … so, me and [junior middle Vivien Gilbert] really contribute by blocking a lot, and just getting up there and stopping the opponents and making it easier for our defense to do their job.”

Christian Brothers led earlier in the set, jumping out to a 4-1 advantage. Following a side-out, though, Hillsdale libero Gwen Wong rattled off four straight aces to give the Knights the lead. The senior has been known as a tough server this season. But her four match aces Thursday were a new career-high.

“This one just felt really important because it was such a crucial game,” Wong said. “I felt really proud of myself even though I wasn’t in the best shape I could be because of a previous game. But I was really glad I could pull through and take off that little weight on the team.”

Game 3 turned into a point-for-point thriller. After the set deadlocked at 9-9, there were ties at 13 different junctures, including as late as 23-23. Hurley broke the tie in favor of the Falcons, firing one of her team-high 18 kills off the left side. Senior middle Lily Patock finished off the set for Christian Brothers with a block to force a fourth set.

Game 4 was point-for-point for a time as well, with the Falcons taking a 17-16 lead on roll shot off the left side from Patock. But Vanos responded by chopping the block to set off a 4-point run for Hillsdale. Dean went on to earn match point by booming a kill off the left side then followed by serving up her fourth ace of the match to end it.

Raspberry drama aside, Dean was in exceptional form — with her patented explosive sounding contact echoing through Zugelder Gym all night long.

“That is determination,” Crump said. “And every single time she makes contact, it’s like the sparkplug to her, and she just gets more fired up and more pumped up. And her defense, she reads so well.”

Hillsdale now advances to the Division I regional semifinals. The Knights host No. 7 Amador Valley Saturday night at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to next Tuesday’s Northern California championship round.

In Division II action, No. 3 Burlingame (26-6) rolled in straight sets 25-8, 25-8, 25-23 at home against No. 6 Archie Williams-San Anselmo (21-8). The Panthers advance to Saturday's Nor Cal regional semifinal round and will travel to No. 2 Redwood-Larkspur for a 6 p.m. start.

In Division IV play, both Mercy-Burlingame and Notre Dame-Belmont were eliminated. No. 5 Mercy (15-14) fell at No. 4 West Valley-Cottonwood (34-5) in four sets 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17. No. 6 NDB (17-12) fell in four sets to No. 14 Tamalpais-Mill Valley at Moore Pavilion.