The West County was well-represented in the North Coast Section
playoffs last week, as Analy advanced with a five-set win over
Albany, while El Molino saw its season end with a four-game loss to
Ursuline.
Lions bounced by Bears
El Mo was the fifth seed in the NCS Division-4 tournament, and
played host to visiting Ursuline on Nov. 10. Although the Lions
were at home, the 12th-seeded Bears may have benefited from added
emotion after last week’s announcement that the school would be
closing next year.
The Bears used the extra fuel to their advantage in pulling out
a hard-fought win in four games; 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, and
26-24.
Leading the net attack for the Lions were Sierra Taylor, with 12
kills, and Taylor Lunardi with 31 digs.
The loss signaled the end of a resurgent campaign for the Lions,
who finished their best season in years with an overall record of
28-10.
“My team played well, and each game was a total battle,” said El
Mo coach Leslie Grassl. “It was tough to play against a team that
had so much emotion going into the night, but it was exciting to
make it into the playoffs for the second year in a row.”
The Lions will graduate nine seniors from this year’s team.
Tigers survive thriller at Albany
The fifth-seeded Tigers (24-10) took a first step toward their
goal of an NCS Dvision-3 title on Saturday, notching a win at
number-four Albany in a five-set thriller; 25-16, 23-25, 25-21,
23-25, and 15-9.
Albany was coming off of a perfect 18-0 mark to win the Bay
Shore Athletic League championship, but met its match against the
seasoned Tigers.
Leading the way for Analy were Claire Sullivan (25 kills),
Briana Adviento (19 kills), and Marla Petrucci (52 assists, 15
digs).
Petrucci, a three-year veteran, played one of her best matches
of the year in a great defensive performance, recording her third
straight double-double. Sierra Fiesel also turned in a notable
effort with outstanding passing and defense.
The victory propelled the Tigers into the NCS semi-finals, and
at press time were preparing to visit top-seeded Campolindo on Nov.
17. Should Analy win, it will advance to meet the winner of the
Drake-Moreau Catholic match this Saturday, Nov. 20 (7 p.m.) for the
NCS title at a site to be determined. Check the NCS website at
www.cifncs.org for updated
bracket information.
The Tigers have a storied history against Campolindo, having
beaten the Cougars to win the NCS title in 2006. The teams met on
Sept. 17 in the Archbishop Mitty Tournament, with Campo pulling out
a four-set win.
“I think Campo is a talented team and we are going to work on
spreading out our offense a little more this week to see if we can
keep them guessing a bit more,” noted Analy coach Nancy Williams.
“If we play well, anything can happen.”
