League championship is first in nine years for CCS-playoff bound
Live Oak
MORGAN HILL
Sitting next to each other on the bench Thursday, their volleyball team making a mockery of what was expected to be a hotly contested Mount Hamilton Division title game, Live Oak’s Savanna Hartman, Jackie Protsman and Cristina Vigano stared at the scoreboard in blissful disbelief.
The Acorns led by 13 points in Game 3 and were on their way to sweeping Willow Glen 25-19, 25-11, 25-13 to firmly lay claim to their first league championship in nine years.
As has been the case for the latter half of fall, Live Oak was in a league of its own.
“It was crazy,” Hartman said. “We were just like, ‘We’ve got it. We’re going to be league champions.’ We didn’t want to get too cocky because we didn’t want to mess it up.”
The regular-season finale at Live Oak High School was a showdown between the first- and second-place teams in the division; two quality programs that are heading to the Central Coast Section Playoffs.
On Senior Night, the Acorns (21-8 overall, 13-1 league) turned it into a victory lap. The service line was like a spotlight for each Live Oak player. The screaming never stopped.
“This is what the girls worked for, and it’s been a very, very, very long time,” said coach Laura Coleman, now in her 13th season at LOHS. “We’ve had good games and good matches, but this was like the perfect match. We couldn’t do anything wrong.”
Sophomore Fa Saulala had 10 kills and seven digs to lead the Acorns, and senior teammates Gabi Cinkova (seven kills, six digs, three blocks, two stuff blocks), Alyssa Brusaschetti (23 assists, two aces) and Emily Chiri (four aces) were in top form for their “farewell” performance.
Live Oak earned a No. 5 seed in the Division III tournament and hosts No. 12 Branham in the first round at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The winners plays Saturday.
“It was a great feeling to be able to win like this at home,” said Cinkova, a 6-foot outside hitter. “I can’t say it was perfect because everyone makes mistakes. But it’s a testament to how hard we’ve been working able. I got the feeling everyone wanted it.”
Junior middles Katie Obbema and Allison Shedden collected seven and three blocks, respectively, for the Acorns, who completely shut down Willow Glen’s offense.
Sophomore standout Natalie Fahey, who had 27 kills Oct. 12 when Live Oak beat the Rams in four sets, was held to 13 kills Thursday to lead Willow Glen (16-5, 11-2).
The Rams had lost all rhythm by the end of Game 2.
“We really scouted them well,” Obbema said. “We knew who their good hitters were, so we watched out for them. We trust our defense to do anything.
“I’m amazed by this, kind of speechless.”
Live Oak set the tone early, building a 7-0 lead behind three of the team’s 11 aces. Obbema scored back-to-back stuff blocks at one point and added three more blocks down the stretch to hold off the Rams.
Hartman, a sophomore, chipped in two kills, mixing up the onslaught put on by Cinkova and Saulala.
“Katie and Savanna did really well tonight,” Shedden said. “Our offense was huge. I think our competition was tough — we just pushed through everything.”
Brusaschetti lofted seven assists in Game 2 when the Acorns scored 13 of the first 17 points and kept the pedal down.
“It’s a little surprising how well we did,” Coleman said. “You don’t know what team’s going to come out. … We’ve had times where our passing was OK, but everything else went wrong this year. Today, everything was in the zone.
“We have to play like that to stay in contention at CCS.”
In the stands, the victory cheers began when Brusaschetti set Cinkova at match point in Game 3. Cinkova’s left hand drilled the ball off a defender’s foot, and the Mount Hamilton crown was all for Live Oak.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Cinkova said. “I couldn’t ask for a better one.”
Correction: The date of Live Oak’s first-round playoff game was incorrectly stated in Tuesday’s print edition. The Acorns host Branham at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
