SHP delivers ‘the Alis’ to coaches’ first CCS volleyball crown

The Gators did it in style, finishing on a 5-0 run to overcome a 13-10 deficit in the decisive fifth set, as No. 2-seed SHP (21-14) went the distance at Gunn High School for a 25-20, 25-14, 21-25, 27-29, 15-13 victory over No. 1 Harbor-Santa Cruz (21-10).

“Any time you can come back from a deficit in the fifth — I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending to this,” Magner said, “for our girls to understand how good they are when they decide to play the way they know how to play. I mean, we played mature volleyball. It’s a game of momentum, and this is exactly what you can ever imagine from a championship match.”

Championship point was a wild, prolonged battle that exemplified the entire match — one where SHP showcased a barrage of young weapons against a Harbor defense that seemed to make the impossible rally-saving plays possible time and again. So, when the Gators wrestled up a 50-50 exchange and set terminator Poema Ueligitone off the right side, the 5-9 junior went beast mode to end the long rally with her match-high 19th kill.

“A lot of emotions,” Ueligitone said. “I was really stressed. ... My thought process was just hit it as hard as I can, or be as aggressive as I can. I knew that the weakness was in the line shot, so at the last moment I turned it.”

SHP has consistently fielded CCS contenders in Magner’s 11 seasons at the helm. The Gators earned their last CCS title in 2012 under head coach Damein Hardy, but Saturday marked the program’s fourth CCS finals appearance since. The Gators have qualified for the CCS playoffs in each of the last 11 seasons. Magner’s resume now also includes seven CIF Northern California playoff qualifiers, with a Nor Cal Division II crown in 2017.

The 2024 Gators opened the year with plenty to prove. The program graduated 10 seniors after last season, this after the talent-rich group born from 2022 graduate Millie Muir, and capped by 2024 grad Isabelle Marco — now playing NCAA Division I volleyball at Duke University and University of Utah, respectively — led SHP to the CCS Open Division tournament for three straight years.

Ueligitone was one of two underclassmen on the 2023 squad, and enjoyed some rotational utility in the front row. This season, she was suddenly thrust into a leadership role on a roster that Saturday featured just two starting seniors in middles Paola Reinosa and Alexis Verner.

“It means so much,” Uegligitone said of the championship. “I played on varsity last year and we were playing in Open, but we didn’t make it this far. So, it means a lot to say that I have won a CCS championship, and I’m so happy to have had ‘the Alis’ here to support me, and my teammates. ... This means so much for me.”

Sophomore setter Kiley McGibben is another young star who was thrust into a leadership role, and my how she’s shined. It started as a season of uncertainty for McGibben, who spent most of the first month on the shelf due to a knee injury. This was a major test for SHP, as McGibben was slated as the starting setter in a 5-1 offense.

“I feel like it was nicely put onto me,” McGibben said. “And Sofia Peypoch, she’s also been stepping up a lot.”

When McGibben was injured in the third match of the season, Peypoch, another sophomore, saddled into the setter spot.

This provided Magner with a secret weapon heading into the postseason, as the Gators reverted to a 6-2 offense that had been a staple of the program in seasons past, though it was a new look for the 2024 team. And McGibben and Peypoch have thrived.

“We just switched to a 6-2,” Magner said. “It’s fresh. Kiley is such a high-level player — she’s smart, she’s an incredible teammate, she runs the court well — and we wanted to be able to add more diversity to our offensive attack, and it’s working.”

McGibben stepped up big Saturday in Game 1. The Gators opened as well as they could have hoped, scoring four blocks en route to a 15-11 start. But after Harbor closed it to 18-17, the Gators called a timeout and McGibben came out of the break swinging. The 5-10 attacking setter sparked a 6-0 run, tooling a kill off the left side, then pivoting right for a tool and roll shot off the opposite pin.

The sophomore totaled four of her seven match kills through the opening two sets, as SHP rolled to a Game 2 win. But the Harbor defense shut her down in Game 3, and contained SHP’s freshman phenoms Leilah Abrams and Brie Eisenberg to gain a foothold. Then in Game 4, Abrams found her swing, and how. The freshy scored eight of her 16 match kills in the fourth set, as the Gators opened a 19-13 lead.

Then Harbor’s three-pronged attack of seniors Isla Johnson and Maren O’Farrell, and late-surging sophomore Cecile Novembre, led the Pirates back from the abyss. SHP was all too ready to help, committing 15 unforced errors in the set. After a 6-1 Harbor run, O’Farrell scored a pivotal block of Ueligitone to tie it 24-24 and force extra points. The Gators gained the advantage once at 25-24 when Abrams tooled the block off the left side. But after an SHP service fault put Harbor up 28-27, Johnson unloaded for set point to force a Game 5.

“At practice, we work on working through the fatigue and stuff,” McGibben said. “Yeah, the energy is great out there. When we want to win, we want to win. So, it’s always amazing.”

SHP opened the race to 15 on a 4-1 run, but the Pirates answered with a fluke bump that found floor on the Gators’ side, and a touch through the middle that found the sideline helped tie it 4-4. The lead swung back to SHP until Harbor senior Holly Rejfir scored off the right, and O’Farrell aced a serve to put Harbor ahead 8-7. Back-to-back kills by senior Jocelyn Ruelas and Johnson upped the lead to 13-10, pushing the Gators to the brink.

“They’re a relentless team,” Magner said. “We’ve seen them twice this year and they’re well coached, and they have an incredible amount of tenacity and fight. And they’re definitely not going to give up, which is exactly what we told the girls. So, my hat’s off to them, because they really gave us a run for our money, and I’m proud of our kids.”

After a service fault, the marathon rallies that had been on display all night each seemed to go the extra mile. And after Harbor swung outside the antenna, the Gators were feeling it when Abrams floated a deep ace to tie it at 13. Abrams wasn’t done, firing a top-spin ace into the Harbor campfire to force championship point.

Then, after a Harbor timeout, the Gators ended their 12-year CCS title drought.

The Gators played a free ball with McGibben setting Ueligitone high through the middle, but the cannon fire was absorbed by senior Tea Stockwell with a dive along the back row, and Ruelas racing over to cover the wayward pass across the sideline for Stockwell to return it with a long bump. McGibben set the middle again, this time for a soft touch to Reinosa, but had it jousted back by Johnson. Reinosa’s defense was on point as she reflexively scooped it up. The dig went over the net for Novembre to attempt a slap back, but Eisenberg got a touch to slow it for Reinosa, who put the Gators in system with an overhead dig. McGibben made it count with a bump set to Ueligitone, who got a running start off the right side and chopped down the block to score the decisive kill.

“She’s kind of like an animal,” Magner said of Ueligitone’s performance. “She wants the best for her teammates, and she plays that way. And there was no chance that she was going to allow any other outcome. So, I am so proud of her. Truly, the whole team.”

The Gators now advance to the CIF Nor Cal tournament. SHP opens in the Division II tournament as the No. 12 seed, and travels to No. 5 Lincoln-San Francisco for Tuesday’s opener. Start time is slated for 6 p.m.

Division II

No. 3 Aragon (19-17) saw its CCS finals dominance of recent years run out, falling 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-12 to No. 1 Monta Vista-Cupertino (22-10) Saturday at Palo Alto High School. The Lady Dons now advance to the Nor Cal Division III tournament. They will host Tuesday’s opener against No. 12 Ripon at 6 p.m.

Division V

No. 2 Crystal (26-4) rallied back with three wins in extra-points sets to repeat as CCS Division V champions with a 21-25, 26-24, 27-25, 26-24 victory over No. 1 Summit Shasta (25-5) Saturday at Gunn High School. Crystal, the reigning CIF Division V state champion, qualifies for the Nor Cal Division III tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Gryphons open Tuesday at home against No. 14 St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.