Tigers roar to four-set victory over Gators

Then there is Notre Dame-Belmont, a team cruising along with essentially the same roster with which it won the Central Coast Section Division IV title a season ago.

Or, as Tigers head coach Jen Agresti calls it — riding the wave.

NDB (3-0 WBAL Foothill, 13-5 overall) is currently in the barrel of a three-match win streak to open league play after taking down SHP in four sets 25-15, 16-25, 25-18, 25-13 Tuesday night at Moore Pavilion.

The Tigers are a streaky bunch though. They dominated Game 1 behind a balanced attack that saw seven different players register kills, including three apiece from sophomore middle Kelly Schackel, sophomore opposite Miranda Chan and senior setter Krissy Smoot. NDB totaled 15 kills to SHP’s six, and added a flurry of five service aces.

Game 2 was a different story though. They still outdueled the Gators in the kill department 12-11. But 10 unforced errors proved NDB’s undoing.

“That’s how we are right now,” Agresti said. “We’re figuring things out. We’re great moment, then next it’s back to the drawing board.”

Agresti literally drew up new attacking assignments, switching up the attack to different hitters, to right the ship. This is where the Tigers are dealing from spoils of riches. They’ve got an array of dual threats in their lineup — senior outside hitter Kendall Peters (12 kills and 13 digs) and senior outside hitter Vanessa Pan (10 kills and 15 digs) each had double-doubles.

By Game 4, though, it was back to a tried and true lineup that led NDB to the Northern California Division II championship game. And the Tigers played like they were intent on exacting revenge on the Gators, who won the showdown for the Nor Cal title a year ago.

“We had the same starting lineup we used last year in the Nor Cal semifinals,” Pan said. “We’re very comfortable (in that lineup). That’s like our normal positions.”

The Tigers opened the final set on a 6-0 run, spurred by three straight kills from Schackel (tooling the right-side block), Pan (taking aim from the left side) and sophomore outside hitter Abby Miller (a fade over the right-side double block) before senior setter Rachel Liu scored an ace, and Miler put down a block followed by a kill.

NDB junior libero Delaney Walsh also had several key digs in the run, including a one-handed dive out across the back row.

“When we get momentum, we join together as one team and play our best,” Walsh said.

SHP is finding a feel for its offense, though, with freshman setter Millie Muir at the outset of what looks to be a promising volleyball career.

At 6-1, she already fits the varsity bill. She dispersed assists for senior outside hitter Ally Polverari’s team-high eight kills.

“It’s definitely been a process,” Muir said. “We have some great senior leadership.”

During SHP’s Northern California title run last season, Muir was one of the team’s biggest fans as an eighthgrader at Sacred Heart Prep Middle School.

“I was definitely a fan of theirs last year,” Muir said.

Next up for NDB is another big test as the Tigers host Menlo School Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.

“We definitely have an advantage because we have all our players and we’re healthy,” Pan said. “It’s going to be a big week for us.”