The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Monta Vista's Anushka Nethisinghe celebrates a CCS win over Prospect, but the Matadors lost in the CCS finals to St. Francis.

Matadors fall in finals

St. Francis tops Mats, Mustangs

By Dick Sparrer

The volleyball teams at Homestead and Monta Vista shared a healthy rivalry in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this past fall.

They met twice in the regular season, and split in the two matches.

But the rivalry ended when the two teams each advanced to opposite brackets in the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs. Then they faced a common goal--to beat St. Francis.

Each one got the chance during the recently completed CCS playoffs, but neither could.

St. Francis beat Homestead in the semifinals, then turned back Monta Vista in the finals to win the CCS championship.

The Matadors upset No. 2 seeded Presentation to get the shot at the Lancers in the CCS title game. Monta Vista turned back the Panthers 15-7, 15-11, 13-15, 15-10 to win in the semi-finals and advance to the championship match.

Sophomore Heather Janssen and junior Allison Thee starred for the Mats in the win over Presentation. Stephanie Knopp, another sophomore, also played well in the win along with junior Anna Abatzoglou.

The Mats went on to face the Lancers in the CCS finals. Monta Vista had already lost twice to St. Francis in the De Anza Division campaign, and the Matadors lost again at CCS, falling 15-5, 15-5, 15-3.

Still, you won't catch Monta Vista coach Sheri Hess complaining too loudly about the loss to the Lancers. After all, it was quite an accomplishment for the Matadors to even reach that level, considering that the team is loaded with underclassmen.

"We're really young," said Hess, who has the two sophomores and two freshmen on the varsity roster. "We've been playing very well."

Janssen and Knopp join freshmen Tina Tsou and Sarah Hess to give the Mats a young look.

Monta Vista will lose just three players to graduation, seniors Anushka Nethisinghe, Sherry Kim and Alie Halla. Juniors Laura Fairchild, Janice Chen, Winter Graham, Nilushka Nethisinghe and Claudette Tan will join Abatzoglou and Thee as returners next season.

The loss left the Matadors 23-15 for the year.

Homestead, meanwhile, finished the year at 15-18 after losing a tough 15-3, 15-8, 15-6 decision to St. Francis in the CCS semifinals.

Senior standouts Donna Tripiano and Erin Norcia were each playing their final match for the Mustangs after outstanding volleyball careers at Homestead.

Kasia Lesiak, Ellen Byron, Shelly Mellberg and Mariann Hu were other top players for the Mustangs this fall.

King's in final

While Monta Vista was playing for a CCS Division III title, the King's Academy girls' volleyball team was battling Sacred Heart Prep in the finals of the Division V tourney.

The Knights had turned back Redwood Christian in a thrilling five-game match to advance to the finals, but lost in five to Sacred Heart in the title match.

King's opened up a 2-0 lead over Sacred Heart with wins of 15-7, 15-12 in the first two games, and the Knights were leading in the third game before the Gators started to battle back.

Sacred Heart won the third game 15-11, then evened the match 2-2 with a 15-5 win in the fourth game. The Gators clinched the CCS title with a 15-11 in the fifth and deciding game of the match.

But while the Knights' loss in the finals may have been disappointing, their win in the semifinals was thrilling.

King's turned back Redwood Christian 15-13, 12-15, 15-11, 13-15, 15-8 to move into the championship round.

Beth Davidson and Kelly Spaulding starred for King's in the semifinal win. Davidson led the Knights with 43 assists, and Spaulding nailed a team high 29 kills.

The split at CCS left the Knights with a 19-10 season record. King's would have finished at 25-4, but had to forfeit six matches because of a paperwork error, according to the coach.

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 26, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.