Terra Nova senior Madi Williams had the match of her life the last time the Tigers met El Camino on the volleyball court.
During the first round of Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play Oct. 1, Terra Nova won in four sets while hosting the Lady Colts. It was just the fourth match of Williams’ return from an ankle injury that sidelined her for nearly three weeks, and the 5-6 outside hitter reeled off a remarkable 38 kills.
“The last time we played she was coming off an injury, so she was fully rested,” Terra Nova head coach Kawann Summerville said. “I just feel like Mia Chan, our setter — [Williams] was hot — so, she just kept feeding her and feeding her and feeding her, because there was no resistance.”
In Thursday’s rematch at El Camino, the Tigers took a more balanced approach for a 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 victory to spoil the Colts’ Senior Night. Williams and senior outside hitter Emma Long combined for 33 kills, as Long led the way with a match-high 18 kills. Williams totaled 15.
“I think the energy was just overall different,” Williams said, “and we just wanted to finish the game fast. Because last game ... we kind of gave them a free set, and we weren’t all on our game. And I feel like we had a lot better team chemistry this time around.”
With the win, second-place Terra Nova (11-2 PAL Ocean, 16-10 overall) remains in contention for PAL Ocean Division title with one regular-season match to play. The Tigers will be looking to spoil one more Senior Night when they travel to first-place Half Moon Bay next Tuesday. HMB would clinch at league championship outright with a victory. A Terra Nova win would make the rivals co-champions.
The last time the two teams met in Pacifica, where Terra Nova handed HMB its only league loss of the season.
“We’re looking forward to Half Moon bay because it’s a great rivalry, it’s going to be at their place, at Senior Night, so the atmosphere is going to be really high,” Summerville said. “And they know that we are coming.”
With Thursday’s loss, El Camino (5-8, 5-9) clinched a sub-.500 record for the first time in head coach Apollo Madayag’s seven years at the helm. The last time the Colts finished below .500 in league play was in 2016. El Camino won a PAL Ocean co-championship last season, sharing it with Woodside, and won the league title outright in 2019.
The Colts graduated their two star players from the 2023 team in Italia Ghilarducci and Penelope Madayag. They will lose five seniors to graduation after this season. Apollo Madayag — a charismatic and passionate coach, who sported a cool three-piece pinstripe suit for Senior Night — has already implemented a blueprint for the future by promoting three freshmen to varsity from the outset of this season.
“It’s a rebuild,” Madayag said. “It’s fine. We’ve got new freshmen that are rookies, but you’re training them and they’re learning. They’re coachable. But I see in the long run another championship run.”
El Camino’s improved defense Thursday had a lot to say about Terra Nova’s varied attacking lines. The back-row play of senior Haley Kassandra Magno and libero Jasmine Duong helped prolong rallies, and forced the Tigers to work for early points as El Camino jumped out to a 5-3 lead in Game 1.
“The first time we played them ... we didn’t know what to expect, really,” El Camino junior Kelani Der said, “and we were playing a little scared. This time, we really prepared during practice and we got our blocks up. We were covering the line. It was a little different. We were a little more confident with it.”
The home team’s defense kept up the fight all night long.
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“This is probably one of the best games they’ve played defensively,” Madayag said. “That took a while. ... Usually it’s late in the season, they’ll get it. ... So, I’m going to take this momentum and move it forward for next season.”
Terra Nova simply had enough weapons to scramble the Colts for pivotal runs. Senior defensive specialist Emily Pimm stepped to the service line amid a 5-5 tie in Game 1 and led the Tigers on a 10-0 run, firing all of her four match aces during the spree.
“She usually gets us a bunch of aces,” Long said.
Then Williams and Long locked and loaded. Williams scored with a nice roll shot off the left side to up the lead to 21-15. When Long rotated into the front, she scored on a left-side tip over the double block to force set point. El Camino misfired into the net to end Game 1.
El Camino stayed close throughout Game 2, but Terra Nova held the line through the middlegame with Long exacting smart two-handed taps to find the opposite sideline. The Colts closed it to 22-21 on an ace from Der. The Colts then erred on the serve before Williams connected for a heat seeker inside the back line to force set point, and El Camino missed wide on a cross shot to put the Tigers up 2 sets to 0.
Long kept up the pressure in Game 3, and by the time Williams scored an emotional block, the tigers led 14-10. They’d continue to add to the lead on the march to victory, punctuated by sophomore middle Rose Dziuba’s kill on an overpass to end it.
“Today I felt excited to be here,” Long said. “I feel like our team was extra energetic today, so it helped a lot.”
Terra Nova setter Amelia Chan equaled the match-high with four aces. Der — a former setter who switched to outside hitter this season — paced El Camino with seven kills.
Half Moon Bay 3, Capuchino 1
Half Moon Bay (12-1, 19-11) made the picture in the PAL Ocean Division race much clearer with a 25-21, 25-23, 14-25, 27-25 win at Capuchino (10-3, 17-9). Cap entered the day tied for second place in the PAL Ocean with Terra Nova. Now, with one regular-season match to play, Cap can finish no better than tied for second place.
HMB has now won six straight in league play since its midseason loss to Terra Nova.
“At the beginning of the week the team kind of got together and said ... there are three tough hurdles in front of us,” HMB head coach Mike Inglis said of matchups with Mills (currently fourth place in the Ocean Division), Cap and Terra Nova. “We’re going to take them one at a time, but we’re going to have to be on our A-game the whole time.”
Last season, HMB swept the season series from the Tigers. Terra Nova swept a two-match season series from its archrival since 2017.
“We’re trying to stay focused, stay in rhythm, and keep our energy up and our attitude going in the right direction,” Inglis said. “Terra Nova is going to be tough. We already know that. But I think if we play our game and just stay focused, I think we can pull it out.”
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