Lady Dons bow out of Nor Cals

And even though the Dons fell 25-18, 25-16, 25-23 in the CIF State Volleyball Championships Division II regional semifinals Monday night at Los Altos Campbell closed the season with a brilliantly spirited performance in what would be Aragon’s final set of 2018.

“I didn’t want it to end,” Campbell said. “They’re my family. We all look forward to going to practice. We’re all so close. We’re all best friends. … Everyone wanted to go all out, particularly for that last set.”

In its third match through the CIF Division II bracket, No. 3-seed Aragon (29-7 overall) was playing its first road game of the tournament. The Dons went to five sets in each of their home wins, taking down Central Catholic-Modesto and Carondelet-Concord last week. No. 2 Los Altos (32-8), however, wasn’t interested in getting tangled in a five-set drama.

The Eagles’ defense was unflinching, holding Aragon’s attackers at bay. Sophomores Amanda Patea totaled a team-high eight kills while and Ella Sears scored seven for the Dons, who were squeezed through the middle and blocked seven times by Los Altos. And what Aragon was able to get through the front-line defense was consistently dug up by the dynamic setter tandem of senior Lauren Wong and junior Katie Kishton.

Aragon was held to a mere .068 hitting percentage.

“Their defense was just awesome,” Aragon head coach Kelsey Stiles said. “A lot of hits I expected to go down, they picked up.”

Campbell tapped in to an interesting remedy though. After seeing limited play in opening set, then scoring one kill and one block in Game 2, the junior middle blocker rallied the Dons with six blocks in the closing set. She also added three set kills, giving her four kills and seven blocks on the night.

“This (match) is not indicative of how our season has been,” Stiles said. “But [Campbell’s] play and that type of play is how our season has been.”

Los Altos simply had too many weapons.

Sophomore outside hitter Naomie Cremoux is one to watch. It wasn’t just that the 5-10 underclassman scored a match-high nine kills, it was the flair with which she scored them. Cremoux was content to consistently tool the Aragon block with overpowering swings. But twice she scored cross-shots with sharp angles not generally seen on the high school stage.

Cremoux led the charge in Game 1, scoring five set kills, including at 10-10 with a gorgeous fade over a double block to give the Eagles the lead. The side-out was the start of a 9-1 run and Los Altos walked away with the opening set from there. Aragon went on to out-kill Los Altos 12-10 in the set. But the Eagles committed just two field errors to Aragon’s seven.

The Dons went on to commit nine field errors in Game 2 and 11 more in Game 3. All told, the Dons accrued 31 unforced errors in the match.

“We were just off tonight,” Stiles said.

Aragon opened Game 2 with a head of steam, scoring the first two points of the set. Once again, however, tied midway at 11-11 after Campbell’s first match block, the set quickly spun out of control.

The Dons managed just seven team kills in the set, with Wang and Kishton rotating at right back. It was an area of the court Los Altos head coach Peter Kim scouted as a constant direction of Aragon attacks. And the eighth-year coach’s strategy to defend them was simple.

“Let them hit there and dig them up,” Kim said.

“That’s something we work on,” Kim said. “Ever since I’ve been here, it’s — play defense, work serve receive and serve tough.”

In Game 3, Aragon tried to turn the match into a brawl through the middle. And it almost worked. The Dons enjoyed their latest lead in any of the three sets, going up 22-20 when Patea tooled the block off the left side.

Los Altos used its multi-faceted attack to swing into the lead with a three-point run though, as Kishton scored one of her eight match kills off the right side to tie it 22-22, before Aragon missed long to give the Eagles the lead 23-22.

The Dons tied it 23-23 as Campbell tooled one down through the middle for her sixth match kill. And as it turned out, it would mark the final point of Aragon’s season.

“Aragon doesn’t give up,” Kim said. “They’re tough.”

Los Altos responded with some presence through the middle of its own. Junior middle blocker Claire Kwok scored her second match block to force match point. Then Cremoux dropped the hammer by tooling the block off the left side to end it.

“We’re all just kind of bummed,” Stiles said. “We didn’t want our last game to end this way. But it did. It’s been an epic season. We just didn’t want it to end today.”

The match was originally scheduled to be played Saturday, but due to unhealthy air quality caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County, the match was postponed until Monday.

It has been a season like no other for Aragon volleyball though. Led by the steady hands of senior setter Della Trimble, and inspired by the fan-favorite junior outside hitter Lydia Manu, the Dons proved their depth at every position and were among the final eight teams standing in the CIF Division II bracket throughout the state.

“I was so proud of these girls,” Stiles said. “The beauty of it is we’re only losing two big seniors … but otherwise everyone is coming back.”