NDB roars to CCS Division IV repeat

The sweltering heat inside the gymnasium at Gunn High School Saturday night had all the characteristics of a legendary prizefight, and after three sets of play the reigning Division IV champion Tigers seemed to be on the ropes.

“In our heart, we all knew we wanted the win,” NDB sophomore Abby Miller said. “Rain, snow, we wanted the win.”

In the end — after the five-set slugfest played out like a montage from a “Rocky” movie — No.3-seed NDB (27-11 overall) went the distance to claim the championship victory 25-17, 21-25, 17-25, 25-22, 16-14 to earn its seventh all-time CCS crown in grueling fashion.

“That was brutal,” NDB head coach Jen Agresti said as she walked off the court after her team accepted the CCS Division IV trophy.

No. 4 Harker (17-11) looked determined to capture its first-ever CCS title, especially after dismantling the Tigers’ attack through games 2 and 3. The Eagles are renowned for their balanced offensive attack — five Harker players totaled over 100 kills this season — but it was the defense of junior Anya Gert and senior Karen Krause that kept NDB out of rhythm and unable to find its footing.

NDB swung for a subpar .214 hitting percentage throughout the match, a figure that paled due to hitting just .075 in each the second and third sets. Miller saw the worst of it, hitting just .063 in Game 2 and not much better in Game 3 at .091.

“I feel my offense fluctuated a bit,” Miller said. “There were times I got into my head a lot … but when I got low, the team just did a great job of picking me up.”

And the sophomore outside hitter answered with a powerhouse showing through the final two sets. While Harker was winning the day with technical savvy, Miller and the Tigers turned the match into an all-out brawl, using physicality and strength to plow through the Harker defense.

“I was definitely trying to swing hard,” Miller said.

NDB had to earn it through a back-and-forth Game 4, though, a set that was tied at 15 different junctures, and as late as 22-22. Then NDB’s big cats stepped up.

Senior outside hitter Kendall Peters — who recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs — scored off the left side by cutting the sideline, giving the Tigers a 23-22 advantage. Miller followed by hammering consecutive kills off the left side en route to a match-high 18 kills to even up the match 2 sets apiece.

“As a team, we know we can do it,” Miller said of changing the tide. “We’ve done it in the past. Overall — our energy, our skill level — we just changed it.”

Oh, but the best was yet to come.

Game 5 started with the Tigers absorbing a roundhouse. Not only did an NDB player return to the court late from a bathroom break — costing her team the first point of the race to 15 — Harker followed with a block from junior Lauren Beede, then NDB was called for a double contact, to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.

NDB responded by throwing some bombs of its own, with Miller getting her team on the board by firing a kill off the right side to start the Tigers on a 6-1 run; an ace by senior Vanessa Pan made it 3-2, a block by junior Casey Chamberlain made it 4-3, a clutch dig by Pan set up a Peters kill to tie it 4-4, and the same formula of Pan digging from the back row extended a rally for Peters to tool the block to give NDB the upper hand at 5-4.

The Tigers defense kept delivering, absorbing Harker’s varied swings like the great students of the game they are.

“The challenge is trying to predict where the setter is going with the ball,” Pan said. “So, it’s really hard. … We definitely read the ball well. We were able to get there defensively.”

Senior libero Delaney Walsh totaled a match-high 18 digs, and was integral through the fifth set, though the stars down the stretch were junior setter Rachel Liu with 10 match digs and Pan — the latter totaled nine digs after missing NDB’s CCS semifinal win over Harbor-Santa Cruz due to a concussion — with spectacular back-row play.

“[Pan], she hasn’t played … so she’s not as quick as she was,” Agresti said. “But she had some amazing moments that really saved us. So, I’m glad to have her back on the court.”

Nothing came easy for the Tigers though, even after Miller slammed her final kill to force championship point at 14-9. The five match points in NDB’s pocket wouldn’t be enough though, as Harker went on a 5-0 run, including two kills by Beede, who shared the team-high of 13 kills with junior Ashley Jazbec.

“We thought we had it in the bag,” Pan said. “So, we let off the gas a little.”

Facing extra-points, the Tigers forced a critical side-out when sophomore Kelly Schackel — who totaled 11 kills while leading all NDB attackers with a .381 hitting percentage — unloaded from the right side to force a sixth championship point.

And this time the Tigers did not disappoint, scoring the knockout blow with the most exciting play in volleyball, as sophomore Miranda Chan closed the seam through the middle to score the championship block, with the put-back rattling around the Harker side before falling to the floor to give NDB the title.

“That was really a dream,” Chan said. “I was really, really excited. It really got my heart racing.”

As for the celebration to follow?

“It’s all a blur,” Chan said.

Not for Agresti, though, as the seventh-year coach navigated the grueling match like the expert cornerman she is. She said her lineup changes, in an attempt to gain an advantage, shifted from a 6-2, to a 5-2, to a 5-1, then back to a 6-2 and a 5-2 to finish off the victory.

Senior setter Krissy Smoot was credited with 31 assists, and Liu with 25.

“It was all about focusing on the pass,” Agresti said. “… The kids, though, pulled it out by the skin of their teeth.”

The victory has a big impact on the CIF State Volleyball Championships. With the state brackets determined by overall ranking — not like the CCS brackets, which are determined by school size — NDB earns the No. 16 and final seed in the CIF Division I bracket. Harker falls to the Division II bracket as the No. 9 seed.

The Tigers open CIF play Tuesday, traveling to No. 1 Foothill-Pleasanton for a 7 p.m. start.