Also, SHS tennis earns first CCS berth
SAN JOSE
Another night, another gym, another team wanting to knock the Live Oak Acorns off their pedestal.
Who knew winning a league championship could be so difficult?
A year ago, the Acorns comfortably flew under the radar while tying for third place in the Mount Hamilton Division and earning their first Central Coast Section playoff berth since 2006. They strolled to a 7-0 finish through the first half of league play this fall but have had their fair share of dogfights ever since.
The latest came Thursday at Leland High School. After handily winning the first two games, first-place Live Oak stumbled in the third set then battled through an intense fourth to win 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, setting the stage for a delectable final week of the regular season.
“It felt like they really wanted to beat us,” said Acorns senior Alyssa Brusaschetti, whose rotating sets kept the Chargers off balance in Game 4 and helped Live Oak pull away. “Everyone wants to take us down, I think. We Just have to play our game and we’ll win.”
The Acorns (17-8 overall, 11-1 league), already playoff bound, likely need to sweep their final two division matches to secure their first title in 11 years. They visit Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, travel to Christopher in nonleague play Wednesday, and host a showdown with second-place Willow Glen on Thursday for Senior Night.
“Oh my gosh, we’re excited for next week. It’s not even a question,” Live Oak hitter Fa Saulala said.
The Acorns showed they can adjust their attack and be just as effective Thursday. Once the Chargers caught on to Live Oak’s offensive scheme in Game 3, it looked like the match was headed for five sets.
“They weren’t hitting away from where they were facing,” Live Oak libero Alli Unger said of Leland. “That was clever of them.”
The Acorns resumed control with a 7-1 run to start Game 4 as their powerful hitters mixed in more tips, and Brusaschetti fed blockers Katie Obbema and Allison Shedden for quick spikes down the middle. Leland ran out of rallies.
Saulala totaled a game-high 25 kills, and Obbema had seven and no errors. Senior hitter Gabi Cinkova added 22 kills, and Brusaschetti collected an impressive 52 assists.
“My hitters played smart tonight. I think that was the difference,” Live Oak coach Laura Coleman said. “They had as much trouble passing as we did, but we kept pushing until the end. They don’t quit.”
GIRLS TENNIS
Sobrato earned its first invite to the CCS team playoffs Thursday with a 4-3 victory over Piedmont Hills in the Mount Hamilton tournament at Leland High School.
The Bulldogs secured a top-four finish in their debut season at the A level and plays in the opening round of the section championships Nov. 9. But first, they have the BVAL Singles/Doubles Tournament this week at Leland; senior Alexis Whitaker will play singles, and classmates Alexa Watanabe and Ali Pecsok will play doubles for Sobrato beginning today.
Thursday’s quarterfinal came down to the top singles match between Piedmont Hills’ Eileen Ly and Whitaker, who was battling illness. Whitaker prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Ali Pecsok also won for the Bulldogs in singles, beating Christina Nguyen 6-3, 6-0.
Allison Stoner and Amy Morimoto of Sobrato defeated Christine Doan and Angela Tran 7-5, 6-4 in the top doubles match, and Allison Bettencourt and Mica Schenkelberg beat Thi Nguyen and Amy Tran 6-1, 6-3 to help the Bulldogs clinch the team win.
WATER POLO
Rachel Cretcher of Live Oak High has recently been named Academic All-America by USA Water Polo, an honor given to about three percent of those who apply nationwide.
Cretcher, a senior hole set with a 3.7 grade-point average, played in an Olympic Development Program last spring and is a viable candidate for MVP in the Mount Hamilton this season. She and the Acorns play their next game at 1 p.m. Thursday in a BVAL Tournament quarterfinal against host Willow Glen.
The Live Oak boys follow at 4.
