Boys volleyball
Leigh 3, Branham 1
Leigh was on a mission to dominate archrival Branham in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals.
And the Longhorns did just that.
Top-seeded Leigh defeated No. 5 Branham decisively, beating the Bruins 3-1 at home to advance to the CCS championship game where it will face No. 2 Bellarmine on Saturday.
“I’m just really proud of these guys,” said Branham coach Jeff Argabright. “Three years ago, we were 0-10 in our league. The culture started with those freshmen that were on that team and the JV guys just followed in their lead. For them to do this, I’m just so excited for them. They truly earned this.”
Leigh dominated the early portion of the match, taking the first set 25-23 and the second 25-20 to build a 2-0 lead.
Branham showed signs of shifting the momentum in the third. The Bruins led by as much as 12 and ultimately won the set 25-14 to cut the Leigh lead down to 2-1.
“We knew after the third set we needed to work on our passing,” said Leigh senior outside hitter Liam Popejoy. “When we fixed that, we were able to run our offense and it worked fantastic.”
The Longhorns built an early lead in the fourth set and didn’t look back. A tenacious block from Popejoy late in the fourth set gave Leigh a big 20-10 lead. Xace Leem scored the winning point when he launched a perfectly timed kill in the middle of the Branham defense to give the Longhorns the win.
Leigh came into Thursday’s match having lost 10 of its last 11 games against Branham. The Longhorns hope moving on to the CCS championship can finally put the San Jose school on the map as an up and coming volleyball power.
‘I think it means so much for us because we’ve just been working super hard,” Leem said. “We’ve been playing together since we were young and we put a lot into this the last few years.”
Leigh’s Aiden Sarin (7) dives for the ball against Branham in the fourth set at Leigh High School for their CCS boys volleyball semifinal game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Leigh’s Cooper Smith (10) and Leigh’s Owen Soloman (2) try and block a spike by Branham’s Nick Mego (13) in the second set at Leigh High School for their CCS boys volleyball semifinal game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Leigh’s Jeremy Choi (24) spikes the ball against Branham in the second set at Leigh High School for their CCS boys volleyball semifinal game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Bishop O’Dowd 3, Moreau Catholic 1
The Dragons cruised to the North Coast Section Division III title after it beat Moreau Catholic 25-22, 25-14, 20-25, 25-21. O’Dowd coach Nova Bramed said Cameron Krosty, Roan Alviar and Willem Mullen all were standouts for the Oakland school.
“Our players had a great game, the game was back and forth but our players were ready,” Bramed told the Bay Area News Group. “Our offense was spectacular today. Our players showed a lot of poise and determination to make sure they won their 3rd NCS Championship title in a row.“
Bishop O’Dowd improved to 34-2 and Moreau Catholic slipped to 24-7.
Foothill 3, Castro Valley 1
In front of a packed gymnasium, Foothill won its first NCS title since 2010 by defeating Castro Valley 25-23, 13-25, 25-18, 25-22.
Senior setter Yun Bae was exceptional for Foothill, racking up 39 assists, 13 service points and seven kills as the Pleasanton school improved to 29-6.
Noah Mitzenmacher had 20 receptions, nine service points and seven digs as a libero, and Kayan Vohra and Casey Collins combined for 20 Footill kills.
Braden Lew, libero Grant Guiomar, and hitters Micahel Ly and Owen Santiago were all solid for Castro Valley, which had beaten Amador Valley and Liberty to reach the tile game.
“It was a great environment with the stands packed with fans from both schools,” Castro Valley coach Eric Unti said.
Valley Christian 3, St. Francis 0
Valley Christian left no doubt who the better team was between West Catholic Athletic League rivals when the Warriors swept St. Francis 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 to advance to the CCS Open Division title game.
Tyler Alden had 16 kills and five aces, while Elan Taylor had 12 kills. Andy Xu also had 10 digs for Valley Chrsitian, which improved to 30-10 with the victory in Mountain View.
“We played with conviction, fought back after errors,” VC coach Moni Tautu told BANG. “Adjusted when needed and recovered quickly for the next play.”
Valley Christian will play Santa Cruz for the title. Santa Cruz defeated Archbishop Mitty in the other semifinal.
Northgate 3, Campolindo 0
Northgate captured the NCS Division II crown with a 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 sweep of Diablo Athletic League opponent Campolindo.
“The second set was another back and forth battle in the beginning,” Northgate team manager Dan Hubp told BANG in an email. “But the momentum shifted dramatically to Northgate on the back of powerful serves, stifling defense, solid passing, and pinpoint sets that resulted in commanding offensive kills.”
Northgate improved to 31-3, while Campolindo dropped to 31-10.
“The Northgate win was a complete team effort, with every athlete performing at their peak to ensure a convincing sweep of Campolindo,” Hubp wrote.
Bellarmine 3, Cupertino 2
Bellarmine clinched a spot against Leigh in the CCS Division I title game after it outlasted Cupertino 25-17, 19-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-13 in the semifinal.
“We have been viewed as the “inexperienced team”, the “young team” (only have one senior on the roster), and I am proud of their accomplishments,” Bellarmine coach BJ Prudencio told BANG. “We play in the toughest league in the Bay Area, we are getting better each league match that we are in.”
Jake Berenguer had 26 assists and 10 digs, and Holden Findley filled up the stat sheet with 24 kills, 16 digs, 12 assists and four blocks.
Bellarmine improved to 17-17, and Cupertino fell to 15-15.
Baseball
Pittsburg High’s Aaron Del Real (13) is congratulated by Paul Salazar (14) after scoring in the last inning of their game against Heritage High at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Calif., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
No. 17 Pittsburg 6, Liberty 1
The Pirates locked up the Bay Valley double on Thursday, capturing the tournament championship with a victory over Liberty following their regular season title. Pittsburg broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run inning.
Pirate slugger Diego Deluna went 1 for 2 with three RBIs, and Cole Leschak was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. That gave Josh Painter the cushion he needed to go all the way, allowing just three hits in a complete game.
PIttsburg improved to 20-6 and Liberty dropped to 13-13.
Softball
No. 5 Livermore 6, No. 10 California 5
Host Livermore scored three runs in each of the first two innings and then staved off a California comeback to claim the East Bay Athletic League tournament championship on Thursday.
Freshman Payten Williams drove in Jae Cosgriff on a fly ball in the first inning, and then sophomore Laine Macosky hit a two-run home run to give Livermore a 3-0 lead.
Williams then belted another flyball in the second inning, this time smacking a home run that made the score 6-0.
California mounted a furious rally late, with Jayda Crosby’s solo homer cutting the deficit to just one. Kayla Steel went 2 for 2 with two RBIs, and Shayla Santolucito and Reese Stiner each drove in one run.
Livermore improved to 21-5, 11-2 after winning the tournament, and California dropped to 16-8, 11-3.
Diving
Clayton Valley Charter’s Molly Gray won the CIF state diving title on Thursday afternoon at Clovis West high school. Sobrato’s Katherine Lim was third and Palo Alto’s Alena Lotterer placed seventh.
On the boy’s side, Palo Alto’s Gunnar Grubbs placed second, Mitty senior Solomon Berkenwald was fourth and Amador Valley’s Benjamin Lentz was eighth.
Congratulations to Molly Gray @claytonvalley 2024 CIF State Diving Champion! @CIFState Way to go Molly!! pic.twitter.com/BjtNULIHQg
— CIF-NCS (@CIFNCS) May 9, 2024
Boys lacrosse
De La Salle’s Kellen Dunn (2) , shown here in a file photo, scored a goal in the NCS title game (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Marin Catholic 14, De La Salle 3
De La Salle’s quest to become the first boys lacrosse team to win four consecutive North Coast Section titles fell short on Thursday after the Spartans lost to Marin Catholic 14-3 in the North Coast Section Division I title game.
Hudson Lee, Nick Musco and Kellen Dunn each scored a goal for De La Salle.
Ohio State commit Colin Puckett and freshman defender Harrison Tyler each scored three goals for Marin Catholic, which won its fifth NCS title and first Division I championship.
Justin-Siena 13, Northgate 3
Northgate’s dominant run to the North Coast Section Division came to an end on Thursday night in the NCS Division II title game.
Justin-Sienna’s defense stifled the Broncos who converted just 3 shots on 11 attempts on goal.
Evan Washam, Bret Futterman and Jack Richardson scored Northgate’s only three goals.
Kane Williams had four goals and Jack Shea added three for the Braves.
Justin-Siena won its first section title in school history.
Girls lacrosse
San Marin 12, Campolindo 7
San Marin’s offense proved to be too much for Campolindo as the Cougars fell in the North Coast Section Division II championship game.
San Marin sophomore midfielder Abigail Bartholo led all scorers with five goals while senior Analiese Engler added four goals and two assists.
Campolindo junior midfielder Elsie Ceridono led the Cougars with three goals.
San Marin won its first NCS title in school history with Thursday’s win.