 | | | Molly Dalziel | | | | | | The girls' volleyball NCS playoffs are underway and the intensity is growing with every spike. All three Lamorinda high schools made this year's Division III playoffs. Campolindo (26-7 overall) earned the No. 1 seed, Acalanes (21-8) took the No. 4 seed, and Miramonte (21-10) earned the No. 6 seed. After the first two rounds, Campolindo will host Acalanes in the semifinals tonight, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Head coach John Vuong is proud of the team's No. 1 seed because he knows that his team has worked hard to earn the ranking. "Being the top seed should not be new to the girls. We worked very hard during the season so that we could earn this opportunity," said Vuong.
The Campolindo Cougars have not yet lost a set in the NCS playoffs, which is reflective of their dominant season. They beat No. 16 El Cerrito and then No. 8 Albany with ease. Albany challenged the Cougars in the second set, recording a 22-25 loss, but the Cougars won the first and third sets by double-digits.
In the semifinals, Campolindo will play host to Acalanes, a team they swept twice during the regular season. However, looking ahead to the Nov. 19 match, Vuong can point out two things that his team needs to do in order to ensure a win.
"We must limit our unforced errors and be better in our execution of the free ball opportunities," said Vuong.
The Acalanes Dons, who beat both No. 13 San Rafael and No. 5 Petaluma, will look to upset the Cougars. The Dons will have to play an away game for the first time in the playoffs, but head coach Todd Travis doesn't see it as an added challenge.
"Playing in front of our friends and families at a familiar site is very advantageous, but we won't be doing anything different from our normal routine," said Travis.
After finishing 9-3 in the DFAL, Acalanes took second place behind Campolindo. Although they did not take a set during their regular season match-ups, Travis is hopeful that their experience this season will help them in the postseason.
"We purposely scheduled a really tough preseason, so we have been through many games with playoff intensity by the time NCS rolls around," said Travis.
Earning the No. 6 seed, Miramonte traveled to face No. 11 Del Norte of Crescent City. Despite the long journey, the Mats pulled off a win in straight sets. With the win, Miramonte advanced to face No. 3 Sonoma Valley on Nov. 15.
"Traveling 8 hours to our first round game was difficult, but it did not change our mentality going into Saturday's game," said head coach Lisa Bachtold. "We wanted to go out there and play with no regrets, whatever the outcome may have been."
Miramonte lost in a four-set match. Their best effort came in the second set, when they defeated Sonoma 25-21.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA