The Mount Madonna girls’ volleyball team competed through blood, sweat and tears in this past weekend’s Everett Alvarez High Varsity Volleyball Tournament.
A collision in the first game between two Hawks players resulted in a bloody head injury. But they recovered and helped the team take first place in the gold division.
Mt. Madonna defeated Alvarez on Saturday in two sets, 25-19, 25-22, in the finals. The Hawks finished 4-0 for the day, losing just one set against Watsonville in their first match.
In addition to the collision, freshman Mariah Cohen sprained an ankle in the second match against King City and had to sit out for the remainder of the tournament.
The Hawks defeated the Mustangs in two sets, 25-20, 25-7, followed by another sweeping victory against Scotts Valley, 25-4, 25-14, to advance to the finals.
Senior outside hitter Paola Jacobs tallied 43 kills, 34 digs and seven aces for the Hawks. Sophomore outside Liana Kitchel had nine aces, 28 kills and 28 digs, while freshman middle Eve Willis had 21 kills and six blocks.
Junior setter Savannah Campbell had 8 aces, 18 digs and a team-best 95 assists. Senior defensive specialist Ceci Salado had 16 digs and senior defensive specialist Tabby Hardin-Zollo had 13 digs.
The Hawks (12-5, 4-3) continue Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action at Santa Cruz tonight at 6:30 p.m.
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Boys cross country
Vargas places ninth at Crystal Springs Invitational: St. Francis High sophomore Julian Vargas placed ninth in 16 minutes, 31.5 seconds in the boys’ 3-mile varsity race in Saturday’s Crystal Springs Invitational in Belmont.
Other finishers for the Sharks include senior Patrick McCarthy (16:45.1) in 18th, senior Paul Kane (17:34.3) in 67th and freshman Diego Ramirez (18:14.3) in 99th.
The Sharks placed 11th as a team with 318 points. Bellarmine won the event with 92 points, followed by Dougherty Valley (161) in second and Branham (170) in third.
North Monterey County sophomore Diego Villegas (17:09.7) finished 42nd, followed by sophomore Arrell Calo (17:21.1) in 55th, junior Maximo Puga (18:01.9) and freshman Miguel Alvarado (18:05.5) in 90th.
The Condors finished 15th as a team with 385 points.
Girls cross country
Villegas is top-finisher for Condors: North Monterey County junior Andrea Villegas placed 31st in 21 minutes, 22.5 seconds in the girls’ 3-mile varsity race in Saturday’s Crystal Springs Invitational in Belmont.
Other finishers for the Condors include junior Evelyn Gutierrez (24:01.7) in 85th, sophomore Angelina Pezzini (24:16.4) in 87th, sophomore Nikki Peterson (25:34.9) in 100th and junior Gladis Garcia (26:10.2) in 106th.
The Condors placed 13th as a team with 348 points. Sir Francis Drake won the event with 111 points, followed by Granada (112) in second and Dougherty Valley (129) in third.
St. Francis senior Angelika Castro (21:38.8) finished 37th.
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College football
Cabrillo 21, at Redwoods 14: The Seahawks rebounded with a solid win on the road against the Corsairs on Saturday in non-conference play.
Cabrillo freshman Jimmie Phillips came up with the biggest play on defense. He recorded a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown just before going into halftime.
The Seahawks’ defense forced Redwoods quarterback Alex Adams to throw three interceptions, including the game-winning score. They now have 11 interceptions as a team this season, which is good for No. 2 in the state behind four other teams each tied with 12 interceptions.
Adams completed 12-of-28 pass attempts for 120 yards and the three interceptions.
Payton Mitchell led the way with a team-high 11 tackles and 1 and 1/2 sacks for Cabrillo, which recorded six sacks for a loss of 47 yards and is now ranked fourth in the state with 22 sacks.
The Seahawks continued to show why they have the No. 2 rushing defense in the state, containing the Corsairs to negative three yards on the ground on 19 carries.
However, Redwoods found other ways to score and took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Corsairs quarterback Brody Lucero found Mitchell Hopkins for a four-yard touchdown pass, while Dakota Moore had a 17-yard interception return for a score.
Cabrillo settled down in the second quarter and scored 21 unanswered points, beginning with a seven-yard touchdown run by freshman Tre Ratcliff. He finished with 44 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Cabrillo freshman quarterback Alex Guzman connected with sophomore receiver Kameron Pleasant for a 68-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-all.
The Seahawks took their first lead of the game with a little less than two minutes left in the second quarter. Phillips stepped in front of a pass attempt by Lucero and took it back nearly 40 yards for the go-ahead score.
Both teams failed to put up any points on the scoreboard in the second half but it was good for Cabrillo, which bounced back after suffering its first lost of the year against Reedley.
Guzman completed 5-of-14 pass attempts for 146 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Pleasant finished with 196 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions, while Dominic Hannah finished with a game-high 126 yards on 23 carries.
The Seahawks were hit with game-high 16 penalties for 135 yards, which has been a big issue for them this season.
Cabrillo (4-1, 1-1) will play its second-straight game on the road, this time against Yuba on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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Men’s soccer
Cabrillo 2, at Foothill 2: The Seahawks took the lead late in the game but the Owls tied it minutes later to end Friday’s Coast-South Conference game in a draw.
Cabrillo freshman forward Thomas Bugnet scored an unassisted goal in the 76th minute to take a 2-1 lead. But Foothill’s Akinori Ideta scored shortly after in the 79th minute on assists by Brandon Holguin and Chris Ortiz.
Holguin also recorded a goal just minutes coming out of the break. His shot found the back of the net in the 49th minute on a pass from Jason Yanez.
Cabrillo freshman forward Alejandro Zambrano gave the Seahawks a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute. The assist was credited to freshman forward Matteo Vari.
Cabrillo Carlos Salazar recorded four saves on six shots on goal for the Seahawks (4-4-3, 1-1-2), who will host Monterey Peninsula College on Friday at 2 p.m.
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Women’s soccer
Cabrillo 2, at Skyline 0: The Seahawks scored twice in the second half to defeat the Trojans on Friday in Coast-South Conference play.
Cabrillo (6-5, 2-1) will play against at Foothill College today at 2 p.m.
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Women’s volleyball
Cabrillo 3, Ohlone 0: The Seahawks swept the Renegades in three sets, 25-13, 25-19, 26-24, on Friday in Coast-North Conference action.
Ellie Cary had a team-high eight kills to go along with six digs and an ace for Cabrillo. Kendra Liz had a team-high 34 assists and five digs, while Ashleigh Souza had a team-high 16 digs, six kills and three aces.
The Seahawks also hosted the Cabrillo Classic Tournament on Saturday. They fell in their opener against American River in five sets, 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-13.
Cabrillo bounced back in its second match against Sequoias, sweeping the Giants in three sets 25-13, 25-12, 25-16.
The Seahawks (11-5, 3-0) continue conference action on the road against Las Positas on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
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Reporting Scores: Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to report scores, stats and highlights to [email protected] following games or call 831-761-7335. Please include your name and a contact number in the email.
