Ravens set close out historic run preview

Tuipulotu recorded 18 kills, with eight of her kills coming in the Game 4 comeback, including Sequoia’s final three points of the set, each on super powerful swings. What was more impressive was the way Tuipulotu set them up, earlier in the match, with an array of tips, fades and other changeup looks that made the crushers seem even more powerful.

“That’s kind of her thing,” Sequoia head coach Bryant Tran said. “She’s planting her seed. That’s what we like to call it, planting her seed. And then she’s coming in and picking fruits. That’s what she does.”

Tuipulotu and the Ravens will now travel to the city of Orange to take the court one more time in their remarkable CIF run. By virtue of Tuesday’s Nor Cal regional title win, Sequoia advances to the Division III state championship final to take on Southern California champion Academy of Our Lady of Peace-San Diego.

A senior transfer who played her first two varsity seasons at Menlo-Atherton, Tuipulotu is in her first year at Sequoia.

Tran, in his third year running the program at Sequoia, was previously at Menlo-Atherton, where he coached Tuipulotu her freshman year. Even then, she was a six-rotation force. Her impact on defense has been equal to her offense — recording her third straight Nor Cal double-double Tuesday in totaling 14 digs — as she has produced highlight-reel digs in clutch moments time and again.

“It’s like a full-circle moment,” Tran said. “Since she was a freshman, I knew that her defense was top tier. Like, she should be a libero. This kid is good on defense. The one thing we know about Lina is ... even when she’s struggling on offense, it’s hard for me to take her out because she makes those kind of plays every night. And those kind of plays give so much energy to the team, it’s like, if she’s on the floor, we’re all going.”

Tuipulotu balances a three-pronged Sequoia attack, with sophomore outside hitter Kiera Winters adding 17 kills Tuesday, while sophomore middle Samantha McMurtry was credited with 18 kills and four blocks.

After Winters ranked second on the team in scoring as a freshman, she walked into the gym for preseason workouts as a sophomore as Sequoia’s top returning scorer. That’s when she first met Tuipulotu, not knowing how the new addition would affect the Ravens’ strong chemistry. By the end of that first workout, Tuipulotu and Winters were already gelling.

“I was really intimidated by her at first, because she was another outside,” Winters said. “And I was also scared because she was a senior ... but the first practice, as soon as I got to know her, she’s just so sweet. And she’s not only an amazing player, she’s just such an amazing teammate.”

Building blocks

The Ravens have also added to their blocking game this season.

McMurtry was the one surefire returner, and has led Sequoia with 1.3 blocks per match. Freshman middle Yanely Rodriguez made a quick impression this year, totaling four blocks in the season opener against Gunn. Rodriguez ranks second on the squad 0.8 blocks per match, while junior setter Jayda McGlennon, in addition to leading the team in assists, has emerged as a stout complement up front with 0.6 blocks per match.

Sequoia’s secret to its blocking success is its assistant coaching tandem of Saupuni Mavaega and Jordan Tucker-Robertson, both of whom bring impressive resumes to the table. Tucker-Robertson, a 2017 graduate of Duke University, played high school ball at Bishop Miege in Roeland, Kansas for legendary head coach Gwen Pike, the winningest coach in the history of Kansas high school volleyball. Mavaega, a 2022 graduate of Holy Names University-Oakland, set the program and PacWest Conference single-season blocking record her senior year.

Pilots to watch

While all three of Sequoia’s Nor Cal matches went to the maximum five sets, the Our Lady of Peace Pilots had played just one set over the minimum in their four CIF Southern California Division III wins, including a 25-21, 25-18, 25-10 sweep over Mission Vista-Oceanside in Tuesday’s regional final.

The Pilots are led by 5-10 junior Charlotte Wickstrand. The six-rotation outside hitter recorded her 500th kill and 300th dig of the season against Mission Vista. Junior Talia Butler and senior Dylan Wilson rank 2-3, respectively, in scoring, and are also the Pilots’ two top blockers. Senior libero Amanda Guzman is the defensive anchor, averaging a team-best 5.3 digs per set.

This will mark the first state championship appearance for both programs. Game time at Santiago Canyon College is slated for Saturday at 1:30 p.m.