Sports briefs: Trio of Marin teams move on to volleyball semifinals
Marin teams went 3-for-3 on Saturday night as Marin Academy, Tam and San Rafael High all picked up victories in the North Coast Section girls volleyball playoffs.
The top three teams in each division advance to the NorCal playoffs meaning all three teams need one more win to ensure their qualifications. Semifinals are set for Wednesday with section finals and third-place games next Saturday.
San Rafael went on the road and took down top-seeded Berean Christian 26-24, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23 in a Division III quarterfinal. The No. 8 Bulldogs (18-15) hit the road again for a 7 p.m. Wednesday semifinal against No. 4 Bethel (22-6).
Elsa Kehoe had a team-high 34 kills for San Rafael. Olivia Dugan added 26 digs and Adelaide Gaw added 12 digs. Faith Pu’u had six kills and six blocks.
Middle blocker Muriel Harris produced another big game to help lead Marin Academy to a 25-23, 25-11, 25-27, 25-11 home victory against St. Mary’s in the D-II quarterfinals on Saturday night.
Harris had a team highs with 20 kills and 11 blocks for the No. 4 Wildcats (21-10), who move on to face top-seeded Head-Royce (28-4) on the road in a semifinal at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Setter Courtney Wang added 24 assists and six kills and libero Maddie Booth had 27 digs for MA which has won nine consecutive games in a row dating back to Oct. 4.
Tam, the No. 3 seed in the D-I playoffs, also moved on to the semifinals with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 home win against Mission San Jose (25-6).
Tam’s outside hitter duo of Natalia Clifford and Natalie Stanford both had double-digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively. Reese Murphy had seven kills and five blocks, including a pair of solo blocks at crucial points in the match according to coach Ray Karter.
Emmeline Sandgren added 31 assists, six kills, and three aces for Tam (24-10), which hits the road for a semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday against No. 2 Windsor (31-5). Jade Curtin-Savala added nine digs and three aces for the Red-tailed Hawks.
The Open Division playoffs also resume on Wednesday with top-seeded Branson (20-4) hosting No. 4 Foothill (26-8) at College of Marin at 7 p.m. Wednesday while No. 2 Marin Catholic (24-6) hosts No. 3 James Logan (33-2) at the same time.
No. 5 Redwood (23-5) is also hosting the fifth-place game against No. 6 Carondelet (25-8) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. All six Open teams automatically qualify for NorCals, hence the need for a fifth-place game to help determine seeding.