PLEASANTON — It all came full circle for Foothill coach Dusty Collins.
28 years ago, the long-time volleyball coach got his start at Foothill. In his 10th year, he led the 2006 Foothill team to a 26-1 record and an appearance in the state championship game but lost in three sets to Los Alamitos. He’s had all-time great teams since, but had not made it back to the state championship mountain game.
Then Friday happened.
In dominant fashion, No. 5 Foothill defeated No. 6 Redwood 25-18, 25-19, 14-25, 25-17 to advance to the CIF Division I state finals. The Falcons will look to win their first state title against Palos Verdes at Santiago Canyon College on Friday.
“This just means so much,” said senior outside hitter Kaycie Burdick. “We haven’t been in this position since 2006 so as a program, it’s super important. For me, it’s my senior year and to have my last game here as a win and get a kill on the last point is really special.”
Collins said he was thankful not only for the win, but that they did it in front of their home crowd.
“In 2006, we were the No. 1 seed and we got to host this game,” Collins said. “I told them, ‘you’re trying to match that team.’ That was part of the motivation. Not just that we could get to the final, but that we could do it at home.”
Burdick led Foothill with 20 kills and a block, including the game-sealing spike in the fourth set. Senior middle blocker Lulu Hoenninger added 14 kills and seven blocks and outside hitter Sophia Burdick had 10 kills and two blocks.
Foothill got off to a slow start in the first set, but took an early 18-14 lead. The Falcons closed out the set on a 7-4 run to go up 1-0 behind 10 kills from Burdick.
The Pleasanton school completely dominated the second set as it did not allow Redwood to lead any point.
In the third, Redwood clawed its way back as the Giants built momentum with their athletic attack. But the last run the Marin County school had.
Foothill bounced back in a big way in the fourth set. The Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead and didn’t look back. On set point, Burdick took a pass from junior Paige Nelson and smashed a kill in between two Redwood defenders that ricocheted out of bounds as Foothill sealed the win.
“We had a lot of people at the start of the season say we weren’t going to win our league again or that we weren’t going to be as good,” Burdick said. “For us to turn around and show them that we could be just as good is really important.”
Open Division
No. 5 Archbishop Mitty 3, No. 2 St. Francis 0
On Tuesday night, Monarch wasn’t just a mascot name. The Archbishop Mitty girls volleyball team finished off its NorCal Open Division coronation with a road sweep of St. Francis, punctuating a championship run in which the Monarchs didn’t drop a set. Christian Babcock was in Mountain View and has the full story here.
Division II
No. 1 San Ramon Valley 3, No. 3 Buchanan 0
The Wolves easily moved past Clovis-based Buchanan High School 25-19, 25-10, 25-21 to reach its first ever state title game.
Since losing to Campolindo in the North Coast Section Division I semifinal game, SRV has won five straight against Monte Vista, Granite Bay, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sacred Heart Prep and now Buchanan.
The Wolves will play No. 2 Centennial-Bakersfield in the state championship game on Saturday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, Calif.
Division III
No. 2 Monta Vista 3, Aragon 0
The Cupertino school defeated Aragon 25-14, 25-22, 25-22 to advance to the Division III title game where it will face Visalia’s Central Valley Christian on Saturday at Santiago Canyon College.
The Matadors are seeking their first state championship in school history.
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Division IV
No. 2 Hilmar 3, No. 4 St. Patrick-St. Vincent 0
SPSV battled hard, but came up short against Hilmar 23-25, 18-25, 23-25. The Bruins ended their season 29-10.
Division VI
No. 3 St. Vincent de Paul 3, No. 1 San Francisco Waldorf 0
In a rematch of the NCS Division VI title game, St. Vincent de Paul avenged its earlier loss to San Francisco Waldorf beating the Wolverines 25-15, 25-23, 25-14 to win the CIF NorCal Division VI final.
San Francisco Waldorf garnered national media attention just days before Tuesday’s game after its semifinal opponent, Stone Ridge Christian, forfeited citing a “male athlete concern.”