PALO CEDRO, CA (MPG) – It was an unfortunate case of history repeating itself at the Northern Section CIF Division IV championship match as No. 3 seeded Colusa fell by scores of 19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 17-25 to No. 1 University Prep last Saturday at Foothill High School.
Kills, three blocks and three aces.
Having previously faced each other for the title in 2021 and 2022, the RedHawks hoped to avenge those losses but despite a ferocious effort, they just did not have enough experience to upend the five-time defending champion Panthers.
A young team with only two seniors on its roster, Colusa struggled mightily in the first set as U-Prep fired away on the attack behind the section’s kill leader Audrey Berg along with her counterpart Rylee Villano, who stands fifth among the top hitters.
Yet, putting that set behind them, the RedHawks regrouped and came roaring back to take a 7-1 lead in the second.
Abby Coronado set the tone at the net as Colusa’s scrappy play kept the Panthers out of system and looking rattled.
NSCIF championship match played on Nov. 8.
There was more of the same from the RedHawks at the outset in the third, but U-Prep rallied back and fought off two set points to snatch the win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
As the two teams battled in the fourth set, the Panthers took control for good as Berg hammered down three consecutive kills and served a pair of aces.
Although a disappointing setback for Colusa, it has no reason to hang its head and deserves to be commended for a gritty performance, but as Coach Kim Roper said after the match, the fact that U-Prep had been in this situation five previous times was a huge advantage.
“U-Prep is tough and they definitely know how to do this,” said Roper, who is in her sixth season at the helm. “We are just a really young team and lacked experience but they played with heart and I’m proud of them.”
Coronado had a big game finishing with 21 points on 15 kills, three aces and three blocks, while Peyton Miller also logged 15 kills and Cecelia Mitchum recorded eight.
No other statistics were available by the Pioneer Review print deadline.
Still, in spite of the loss the RedHawks (24-13) earned a sport in the CIF Division V State Championship as the No. 4 seed and had a first round match at home against No. 13 International on Nov. 11 with the winner advancing to face either No. 5 West Campus (Sacramento) or No. 12 Gateway (San Francisco) on Nov. 13.