Central Catholic falls in D-III section final, looks forward to NorCals Tuesday
A six-game win streak came to an end for the Central Catholic High volleyball team Saturday afternoon in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship against Christian Brothers.
The top seed Falcons (34-7) swept the No. 2 Raiders at Cosumnes River College (25-12), 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 in three competitive sets. Saturday’s match was the Raiders’ first trip to the section title match since 2019 when they beat Nevada Union in four sets.
Sophie Castillon led the Raiders with 15 kills and added seven digs. Shelby Jackson and Alyssa Thomas added eight kills each. Madison Genasci finished with 20 assists, Morgan Lung finished with 15 digs and Ashleigh Nunes and Emori Machado led the team in aces with three and two, respectively.
Back-to-back Castillon kills helped the Raiders take a 12-11 lead midway through the first set but after a 10-3 Christian Brothers run, Central Catholic fell into a 21-15 hole that they were unable to overcome.
The Falcons used that momentum to jump out to an early 8-3 second set lead. The Raiders struggled to slow their opponent, falling behind by as much as 10 points at 23-13. A quick 5-1 run highlighted by defense in the back row from Iliana Cuevas, blocking at the net from senior Madisen Thomas and strong serving by Nunes forced a Christian Brothers timeout.
Just like the first set, the Raiders led in the third. A Thomas kill gave Central Catholic a 13-11 lead, forcing a Falcons timeout. Christian Brothers responded, however, extending an 18-15 lead late in the set. Castillon scored the Raiders’ final point of the match, tipping the ball off the Christian Brothers block for a kill but Sydney Wallin ended the match on the ensuing rally with a kill.
“In a lot of ways we’re very similar on paper,” Raiders coach Michelle Springmeyer said. “But they do have a big net and some girls who are just really efficient with the ball.”
The Falcons brought experience into Saturday’s matchup. The winners of the Capital Athletic League in two of the past three seasons, Christian Brothers made it to last year’s Division III title match.
In 2022, they beat Placer, Roseville and Lincoln before facing Escalon in the championship match. The Cougars won in a five-set thriller.
Central Catholic found ways to produce timely runs but when the Falcons got into trouble, they found ways to quickly grab the momentum.
“It was a challenge, but we did hit our stride a few times in the match,” Springmeyer said. “Offensively we were not what we hoped to be today, but our pins really did a great job, our middles got some solid swings. I think when we did get the opportunities, we made the most of them but they’re just a really solid team over there.”
The Raiders’ season is not done yet, as by making the section final, they qualify for the CIF Northern California Volleyball Championships. The brackets were released Sunday morning and the Raiders drew a No. 12 seed in Division II. They travel to No. 5 Clovis North in the first round Tuesday.
“I really try to keep everyone looking to the point ahead,” Springmeyer said. “While this was a tough loss for us, I’m really stressing that we need to regain our composure and fight again. After a challenge you just want to reset and make sure your standards are still set high.”
