Redwood 3, Drake 1: 17-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-15
The Drake girls' volleyball faithful came out in droves to Redwood High for the Marin County Athletic League championship game. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Giants held serve on their home floor, defeating Drake 3-1 to capture the coveted MCAL championship banner.
"A lot of people really counted these girls out and for us to get back to this point was huge," said Drake coach Neil Davidson. "So few teams get the opportunity to be one of the last two teams in the league and just to make it here is an incredible accomplishment."
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In the first game, the Pirates came out like a pack of wild banshees mounting a 25-17 victory and it looked to be Drake's night. Setter Audrey Freeman (23 assists) was lobbing beautiful set-up passes to outside hitter Melanie Stoner (16 kills) and their enthusiasm and focus seemed far better than Redwood's.
"I know Redwood thought they were going to have an easy fight on their hands after sweeping us in the regular season," said Davidson. "I was really proud of the girls for jumping on them early and taking that first set away from them."
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But like any championship team, the Giants regrouped between games -- realigning their defense and tightened up their passing game. The following three games Redwood took over, seemingly digging out every Drake slam and dominating the net with excellent power and placement.
"It feels great to have [the championship] outright and not be co-champions like the last two years," said Redwood coach Katie Pease. Redwood won the regular season play in addition to the championship match. "They beat us in our gym last year and this is what we wanted; we wanted to be the champions outright in our gym."
The Pirates had no answer for outside hitter Ursula Kunhardt, who recorded 18 kills and two aces. She overwhelmed the Drake defense with a deadly cross-court drop shot and powerful spikes.
"I have got to hand it to Redwood. We are two great teams, but they were better than us tonight," said Davidson. "They came back and beat us in three, but I cannot say enough about my kids. They have grown and accomplished so much."
Entering the match the two teams had already played in a tournament championship game once this season at the Cougar Challenge, where Drake downed the Giants in two sets. But that was during the preseason in Albany, not in Larkspur for all the MCAL marbles.
Drake senior Katie Quinn had a solid all-around game with nine kills, two blocks, and two aces. She matched up nose-to-nose with Redwood's middle hitter Lucia Pohlman, who seemed to get her hand on almost every Drake kill attempt.
Pohlman recorded four blocks to go with nine kills and was a major defensive stalwart for the Giants.
"It's a rivalry, but it's a healthy rivalry," said Pease. "The girls play with each other in the off-season and have respect for each other."
The Pirates lost much of their momentum when net player Alya Toquinto rolled her ankle during the second game. She had been combining with Sofia Stuart to block several shots and bolster the Drake defense. Her departure hurt the Pirates' passing and blocking attack, even though sophomore Karli Grigsby stepped in and played well.
The Pirates came up short on their bid for a repeat, but are looking ahead to the first round NCS tournament match next Wednesday.