The Mustangs brought home their first-ever NorCal title with a three-set sweep Tuesday night at top-seeded San Francisco Waldorf.
St. Vincent is on top of the small-school volleyball world in Northern California.
The Mustangs brought home their first-ever NorCal title with a three-set road sweep at top-seeded San Francisco Waldorf in the Division 6 championship game Tuesday night, 25-15, 25-23 and 25-14.
“It’s a little surreal,” St. Vincent head coach Bryn Letsch said. “It sinks in a little more every minute. To see the joy on their faces and the medals around their necks, it’s priceless. It’s worth every moment leading up to this.”
Division 6 teams don’t advance to the state playoffs, so St. Vincent finishes the year at 26-7 overall after winning 11 of their final 12 matches of the year. Their lone loss was to SF Waldorf in the NCS Division 6 title game 10 days ago, a five-set thriller that the Wolverines won 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19 and15-13.
The rematch Tuesday was competitive but a sweep nonetheless.
The Mustangs rolled to a win in the first set before facing some adversity in the second. Down by as much as eight, the Mustangs rallied and scored the final two points to take it 25-23.
“We knew that it was now or never,” Letsch said of the second set. “We didn’t want to give them an inch because they’re a good team and if we had given them anything, they would have taken it.”
Rallying for the second-set win was monumental to closing things out in three, Letsch said.
“They’re a well-coached team and they make adjustments, but we were ready,” she said. “We had an amazing inspirational speech from (head girls basketball coach Will Bullard) last night. He said, ‘Whenever mistakes happens, you just have to tell yourself, ‘Next ball, next ball.’”
“That was sort of our mantra all night because no one is going to have a perfect match and some things didn’t go quite to plan. So, we kept saying ‘Next ball,’ and we executed our plan on the very next ball.”
Up 2-0, they coasted to a big win in the third for the sweep.
Sophomore outside hitter Claire Ellis led the attack with 26 kills and added three digs and six aces, while junior setter Johana Stone racked up 43 assists with nine digs, two blocks, two kills and six aces. Hailey Sarlatte added 12 kills and two blocks and Sam Sarlatte had four kills with five digs and an ace.
“It was a beautiful team effort and just sort of a demonstration of how these coaches and these players support and believe in each other,” Letsch said.
A few hours before the game, the St. Vincent players were given a send-off from campus in Petaluma by teachers, parents and fellow students. The school let students out a few minutes early to cheer on the Mustangs as they boarded a bus for San Francisco.
Tuesday’s night game was held amid some controversy surrounding SF Waldorf. Stone Ridge Christian in Merced forfeited its NorCal semifinal game against SF Waldorf on Saturday in protest of a reported transgender player on the team.
The San Francisco school has not commented on the matter, but Tuesday’s game was closed to members of the media and only family members of players and team staff members were allowed inside the SF Waldorf gym.
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
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