M-A upset in CCS Division I volleyball finals

And so it went for the No. 1-seed M-A Bears, who couldn’t capitalize on a Game 1 win, with No. 3 Milpitas (22-9) powering its way to a 19-25, 28-26, 25-12, 25-22 win to claim the Central Coast Section Division I championship Saturday at Gunn High School.

“Obviously, lots of sadness,” M-A junior Sophie Marks said after the loss. “We’re very just overwhelmed, and there’s just lots of emotions. But ultimately, we did what we could do in a given moment. So, ultimately we’re proud of everyone.”

The Milpitas attack was simply too hot to handle.

Marks was one of three players to finish with a match-high 18 kills, this despite not scoring a single kill in the pivotal third set. The Lady Trojans countered with an array of weapons, with junior outside hitter Audrie Huang sharing the match-high with 18 kills, Lacuzong adding nine kills and five blocks, and senior outside hitter Sara Svihovec entering in Game 2 to total eight kills.

“Definitely have a few weapons,” M-A head coach Denny Falls said. “So, a few weapons we were jut trying to get ready for. Definitely dynamic, and they just mixed it up. A number of great players on their side.”

The Bears (24-10) — looking for their first CCS title since 2021 — led most of the way in Game 1. But in a foreshadowing of things to follow, Milpitas overcame an early 8-2 deficit with a 9-2 run to lead briefly, before contacting the net on back-to-back points to give M-A the lead back. Senior middle Kayla Greenbaum, who also scored 18 kills, teamed with Marks to bring the set home.

In Game 2, however, Milpitas adjusted its block and put on a spirited defensive effort that seemed to not allow M-A another clean attack for the rest of the day.

“They are huge on the right side,” Marks said. “This was like the first team that we really had to work, especially with the outsides. We really needed to work hard to find a way around them. Me specifically, we tried tipping around the block and they would just pick that up. And we would also try to swing line and we also got blocked a bunch of times. But we just swung as hard as we could, and eventually we scored some points.”

M-A put up a scrappy effort of its own down the stretch of Game 2 to force extra-points. With Milpitas earning set point at 24-22 on a Svihovec kill, M-A climbed back on an overreach call before the Trojans misfired long to tie it 24-all. Milpitas went on to earn four set points before closing it out on senior libero Ahnnayah Jhazmyn Buenaflor float serve that just clipped the sideline for an ace.

Milpitas senior outside hitter Julia Grigoreschu totaled 16 match kills, including five apiece in each of the last three sets, and really got cooking in Game 3 to bring home the lopsided Trojans win. On the other side of the net, Marks rotated out early for sophomore Gabriella Lowe, and the junior was held scoreless throughout the set.

“They were blocking angles, and they switched to blocking line, and we never changed,” Falls said. “In a tough matchup, it’s got to be blow by blow, and we landed the first one and then never adjusted.”

In Game 4, however, Marks reentered and M-A played even most of the way. The score was deadlocked as late as 22-22 on senior outside hitter Jocelyn Chang’s hook-shot tip over the block. But the Bears wouldn’t score another point, serving long for a Milpitas side-out, before Svihovec scored off the left side to force championship point, and Lacuzong closed it out with a block.

“We were there, for sure,” Falls said. “And then it got tough.”

M-A was appearing in its ninth CCS finals match all-time, having won four Division I titles in 2012, ’14, ’15 and ’21.

The Bears’ season is not over, though, as the CCS runners-up qualify for the CIF Northern California regional playoffs. M-A opens CIF Division II play Tuesday as the No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa at 6 p.m.