NDB returns to CCS finals

Showing up to the dance isn’t nearly enough for the Tigers though. They have this thing about saving the last dance for the championship spotlight. NDB entered the 2018 postseason having reached the CCS Division IV title match in three of the previous four years, with 2016 — the year the team qualified for the CCS Open Division — its only miss.

Well, make it four out of the past five years, as No. 3-seed NDB (25-11 overall) stunned No. 2 Harbor-Santa Cruz in a 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 sweep in the CCS Division IV semifinals Thursday night at Menlo School. The Tigers now advance to Saturday’s championship match to face No. 4 Harker at Gunn High School at 7:30 p.m.

“Our team, we have really good energy,” senior defensive specialist Carlee Miller said. “And I’m a senior, so I want to go all out.”

Carlee Miller played an essential role in navigating the win by helping NDB in a spirited Game 2 comeback. The Tigers trailed late 22-17, their biggest deficit of the set. That’s when Agresti called a timeout to talk tactics, specifically calling upon Carlee Miller and the rest of the back row to tighten up their passing.

“Our passing broke down somewhat so our timeout was spent talking about that,” Agresti said. “Then they went out and handled it and did what they had to do.”

NDB stepped back onto the floor and went on a tear, rallying for an 8-0 run to stomach punch Harbor (21-15) with a 25-22 win. Not only was it Carlee Miller at the service line for the set-winning run, amid which she scored two of her four match aces — “I just serve tough and make sure I get the ball in the court,” she said — but her clutch dig at 22-19 to extend the rally before Harbor missed just long on one of its 24 unforced errors in the match.

“I think I started noticing they were hitting in,” Carlee Miller said. “So I would read the block and just step into that space.”

The Game 2 victory was a stunning follow-up to a tremendous display of volleyball in the opening set. NDB and Harbor opened going toe-to-toe, extending rallies with great alacrity in all facets of the game, with both squads playing free and easy.

This was tougher than it looked for the Tigers, who were without senior outside hitter Vanessa Pan due to injury. In her absence, NDB shuffled its starting lineup to give first-year varsity middle blocker Casey Chamberlain more playing time than she has received all year. And the 5-11 junior stepped up big time.

“I was psyching myself out because I knew I was going to be playing the whole game,” Chamberlain said. “But I thought about it and nerves don’t help anything.”

Chamberlain scored a match-high four blocks, her first coming in Game 1 to cap a critical 6-1 run to improve a slight 7-6 lead to 13-7. More importantly, the run saw the Tigers winning most of the extended rallies, which loomed large in setting the tone.

“When you’re winning those long rallies, it just shifts the momentum,” Agresti said.

NDB senior outside hitter Kendall Peters was agile, versatile and — at least toward her opponents — hostile as usual. The stealth bomber paced her team with a match-high 11 kills and nine digs, and owned the opening set with an array of shots to total five of those kills in Game 1.

Opposite hitter Abby Miller dominated from the right-side pin. The 6-1 sophomore is the perfect counterbalance to Peters, who is all smiles on the court, while Abby Miller crushes it with a stoic game face.

“She is mentally tough as hell,” Agresti said of her opposite hitter.

Abby Miller went for 10 kills while hitting at a .471 clip, a caliber of consistency Agresti has been fostering in her team throughout the season. It took some doing, but in true NDB fashion, it is all coming together at the right time.

“All season long … we were riding the wave up and down,” Agresti said. “The wave isn’t as ferocious now. … Instead of one player winning the match, three or four players are contributing. It’s just the consistency (is better).”

After closing out Game 2 with a Peters lob off a bump set from junior libero Delaney Walsh, the Tigers rolled into Game 3 by opening with a four-point run. Chamberlain scored two early blocks— sophomore middle Shea Hanson went on to add her third match block as well — while Peters, Abby Miller and sophomore opposite Kelly Schackel fronted the attack.

Carlee Miller helped keep the pressure on early at 4-1, darting into the front row for a clutch serve receive with a diving fist bump before Schackel earned the side-out with a long kill of middle that dove inside the backline. Then Carlee Miller went on to finish off the match with back-to-back aces to propel the Tigers into Saturday’s championship match in dominant fashion.

“I think we’re just learning to stay in the battle,” Agresti said.

That’s just what the Tigers do. Through the Agresti era, they always have.

Division II

In the CCS Division II semifinals, top-seed Aragon bounced back for a four-set win 20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 over No. 5 Presentation. The Dons now advance to the Division II title match to face No. 3 Mountain View Saturday at Gunn High School at 5 p.m.

Division III

No. 3 Hillsdale was eliminated in four sets in the CCS Division III semifinals 25-17, 20-25, 25-15, 25-20 against No. 2 Aptos. This marks the second straight year the Lady Knights have reached the CCS semis, and the second straight year they were eliminated by Aptos.

Division V

No. 6 Summit Shasta saw its best CCS run in its brief school history end with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-14 loss to No. 2 Mt. Madonna-Watsonville.