Sequoia bound for Nor Cal volleyball finals

After falling behind 2 sets to 1, Sequoia rode a nine-point service run by sophomore Samantha McMurtry to a Game 4 win, only to quickly fall behind 9-4 in the race-to-15 fifth set. That’s when the defense of the “Purple Reign” Ravens kicked into overdrive, outlasting Los Gatos (16-14) on a series of prolonged rallies to storm back before overcoming the Wildcats in extra points.

“We don’t let anything drop on this team,” Sequoia setter Jayda McGlennon said. “We put hustle, we put discipline in that fifth set, and we were not letting that drop no matter how down we were.”

On a night where both teams’ fans showed up in force, the Ravens and Wildcats showed out with a captivating fifth set. While McMurtry and McGlennon both had moments of defensive brilliance, it was the back-row play of senior outside hitter Katalina Tuipulotu that swung the frenetic back-and-forth momentum Sequoia’a favor.

“It kind of pushed me to get every ball,” Tuipulotu said of the crowd support. “It kind of made me lock in.”

With the Ravens trailing 12-11 in Game 5, Tuipulotu recorded two monster digs to spark a forever rally, one that ultimately saw Los Gatos misfire into the net to tie it 12-all. On the next point, Tuipulotu again went tumbling across the back row to dig the ball up, before McGlennon tried a sneak-attack dump shot that the Wildcats initially picked up, only for the return attempt on a second contact to again land in the net, giving Sequoia its first lead of the set at 13-12.

A transfer from Menlo-Atherton after her freshman year, when she played for Sequoia head coach Bryant Tran his last season coaching at M-A, Tuipulotu has long been regarded as a superb defender, ranking second in digs with 3.4 digs per set for the Ravens this season.

“Since she was a freshman, I knew that her defense was top tier,” Tran said. “Like, she should be a libero. This kid is good on defense. ... 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.”

Sequoia produced some clutch defense in the front row as well. And that’s really saying something, as Los Gatos’ middle blocker tandem of 6-1 junior Sienna McGrath and 6-4 senior Portia Zeidler were on their game. McGrath finished with seven kills and four blocks, while Zeidler added 10 kills and three blocks.

The 5-8 middle McMurtry led Sequoia with three blocks, but had just one through the first four sets. It was McMurtry’s timely serves that brought the Ravens back from the abyss in Game 4, though, fueling a 10-0 Sequoia run to put the set out of reach at 16-3.

“It was the most needed momentum, and it helped our team so much coming straight out of that third set where we were really struggling,” McGlennon said. “She really helped us all get our momentum back and move the game into that fifth set.”

McMurtry gave the Ravens another momentum swing in Game 5, turning the tide of an early Los Gatos run with the roof of the night.

Early in the fifth set, McGrath, Zeidler and sophomore outside hitter Kate Langer paced Los Gatos to a 9-4 lead. But after Sequoia freshman Yanely Rodriguez scored one of her five match kills to force a side-out, McMurtry stepped up to time her defense to the middle for a 1-v-1 with Zeidler for the 5-8 sophomore to score the solo block with a sonic boom that sent the Sequoia fans into a frenzy.

“So amazing,” McMurtry said. “That’s like the highs of highs in life. It’s like, everyone’s so hyped.”

The Wildcats, though, reclaimed their advantage at the net to tie it 13-13 with McGrath blocking of a tip shot by Sequoia outside hitter Kiera Winters. But after the two teams traded errors to tie it 14-all and force extra points, another 5-8 blocker emerged as Rodriguez recorded her first block of the Nor Cal tournament, slapping down a tip off the right side to force match point.

Senior libero Joslin Fiel recorded the last defensive play for Sequoia, recording a dig as the Ravens attempted a soft attack for the Wildcats to pick up easily. But Los Gatos ran a play off the left side, angling over the block only to have the attempt sail wide to propel Sequoia to the Nor Cal regional finals for the first time in program history.

“Coming to this program, I knew it was a program that historically hasn’t done much in volleyball, and I wanted to change that,” said Tran, who took over the Sequoia volleyball program in 2023. “That’s always been my goal, to take this program far.”

Tuipulotu finished with a match-high 17 kills, while Winters finished with 12 kills. Langer paced Los Gatos with 11 kills.

While the Ravens finished the regular season tied for fourth place in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, they landed a surprise No. 1 seed in Nor Cal Division III by virtue of the power ranking system after earning an at-large bid to the tournament.

“We were surprised by the No. 1 seed,” Tran said, “and I’m not saying we deserve it or anything like that. But I will say that I know how great this team is.”

Sequoia will now host the Nor Cal Division III regional championship Tuesday against No. 2 Lincoln-SF. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. The winner earns a trip to Santiago Canyon College in Orange to play the Southern California champion for the Division III state title.