Driven, confident Central Catholic volleyball team begins postseason with sweep of Linden
Members of the Central Catholic volleyball team weren’t happy with the way the 2022 season played out.
The Raiders advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section semi finals and earned a state playoff berth but during the regular season won just five Valley Oak League games, finishing third in the league with a .500 record and getting into the Division III postseason as a No. 5 seed.
Those returning for the 2023 season vowed that they would use that experience and a summer of tough off-season workouts to come back stronger.
“That was not acceptable to them, the way we finished last year,” said Raiders coach Michelle Springmeyer. “That was not the culture we want to build, and they came in before the school year was over last year and set their intentions with me for the summer and going into league, and they have worked really, really hard to make that happen.”
This season, those meetings and the off-season workouts paid off. The Raiders went from third to first this season and instead of being awarded a No. 5 seed, they earned home court advantage in the first three rounds with a No. 2 seed in the Division III playoffs.
They started their 2023 playoff journey with a first-round sweep against No. 15 Linden, 25-9, 25-15, 25-11.
To reach the 2023 postseason, Central Catholic went 22-11 in the regular season, securing its first 20-plus-win season since 2019. The team gets its most production from returning varsity players. Seniors Shelby Jackson and Sophie Castillon each have over 300 kills on the season to lead the team, junior Morgan Lung leads the team with over 370 digs and senior setter Madison Genasci finished the regular season with 686 assists.
“We have a lot of seniors on our team, so I think we all just really wanted it this year,” said Genasci, who finished Tuesday’s playoff opener with 15 assists, six digs and three aces. “We were like, ‘This is our last year, we really need to step up.’ We also have a lot of younger girls so our team is just really well rounded with a lot of people at every position. Everyone just challenges each other and I think that’s what really drives us.”
The Raiders jumped out to an early lead in each set of their 2023 playoff opener, leading 13-5 in the first set, 9-3 in the second and 11-3 in the third.
In the final set, Linden went on an early run, cutting the Raiders’ lead to 11-10. From that point on, Central Catholic outscored Linden 14-1 to end the match.
Castillon finished with 14 kills and four aces, both team highs, junior Hannah Tillery joined Genasci with a team-high 15 assists and Lung led the team in digs with 13.
“We had a much better serve, receive game and just defensively, reading (the game) a bit more,” Springmeyer said. “We have people stepping into roles that they really haven’t had to and just really own it. Everyone was working hard on both ends. We tried to play a complete game offensively and defensively and I think tonight we really did that.”
The Raiders’ off-season work has made the team more confident. That confidence showed on the court. The team is 17-deep and when the six on the court make a positive play, the 11 on the sidelines break out in customized cheers. When they give up a point, they offer one another encouragement.
“When you’re confident and you believe in what you can do, it just changes the game completely,” Castillon said. “With our teammates, especially, we’re really good at helping each other keep our heads up. We all really want to help each other out.
“Our bench is really big and they are the most support we have. Our home crowd is super supportive too, but whenever we travel, we travel in big numbers.”
Said Genasci: “It’s like we have a cheerleading squad. Everyone is just cheering and we all just look to each other for support and motivation. It’s great having a big team.”
The Raiders have made the section semifinals in each of the past four full seasons, but in 2021 and 2022, they failed to make it to the section title game. This season, that is their goal. Their postseason run continues Thursday at home against No. 7 Vista del Lago.
“I think every team has the moment where you just have to have everyone buying in and believing,” Springmeyer said. “To push us forward, it’s just the belief and understanding that you can get it done. … Our girls are really working hard to keep it together as a family and as a unit and drive forward.”
Local 2023 playoff scores
Volleyball
St Mary’s 3, Enochs 0
Franklin 3, Turlock 2
Pitman 3, McClatchy 0
Beyer 3, Oakdale 1
Escalon 3, Lathrop 0
Ripon 3, Amador 0
Hilmar 3, Orestimba 0
Hughson 3, Union Mine 2
Ripon Christian 3, Highlands 0
Big Valley Christian 3, Mariposa County 0
Flag Football
Ceres 30, Lodi 6:
Del Oro 13, Patterson 6
Escalon 30, Millennium 14:
Christian Brothers 44, Orestimba 6:
