Lady Dragons pay back Bishop O’Dowd

In a North Coast Section Division-3 playoffs semifinal rematch between North Bay and East Bay powers, the third-seed Sonoma Valley High School varsity volleyball girls battled second-seed Bishop O’Dowd Wednesday night in Oakland with a purpose and resolve to achieve two of their four main season-long goals.

Highly energized at the start of the NCS semifinal, the Sonoma County League champion Lady Dragons dropped a 20-25 first-set decision to favored Bishop O’Dowd in its small, cramped gym, before finally settling into a total team groove.

With SCL co-MVPs senior Mackenzie Albrecht and Delaney Swanson leading the charge past the Dragons of O’Dowd, Sonoma’s determined Lady Dragons avenged last year’s loss by snaring 27-25 second-set, 25-22 third-set, and 25-20 fourth-set wins for their stunning, but well-deserved, 3-1 semifinal triumph.

The impressive sectional payback win earned the Sonoma spikers their first chance to play in an NCS final, as well as qualifying for the esteemed NorCal playoffs and a chance to advance to the state championship, for the first time in 15 years.

Sonoma’s last team to accomplish the feats was the strong 1999 Joanna Rentz-led squad, which played for the NorCal crown before falling just short of reaching the state championship on a controversial call.

The third-seeded Lady Dragons (27-3 record) will play for the NCS Division-3 title at top-seeded Campolindo (29-7), which defeated fourth-seeded Acalanes 25-22, 25-16, 25-20 in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 22, in Moraga.

Campolindo, the Diablo-Foothill Athletic League champion, is ranked second in the state’s Division-3 standings, while Sonoma is eighth.

“The girls were amped up for the match at the start and Bishop O’Dowd got the first-set win,” said Sonoma head coach Chelsea Scott. “But they got composed, focused and dialed in – taking charge of the match, and taking care of business in sweeping the next three sets. What the coaching staff really likes and enjoys is this team’s enthusiasm for working hard and conveying a we-can-do-this feeling. Everyone is so proud of what these girls have already accomplished.”

Along with Albrecht and Swanson, Sonoma’s roster – directed by Scott and assistant coaches Mindy Wiley and Haley Ross – consists of seniors Hannah Herrick, Cheyenne McCambridge and Ciara Smith; juniors Courtney Cogbill, Carlie Vollert and Sami Von Gober; sophomores Sydney Eckhert, Jenna Mak and Kiara Miles; and freshman Layla Schoeningh.

The Lady Dragons were fueled to their NCS Division-3 semifinal win over Bishop O’Dowd by Albrecht’s  career high 52 assists, 17 digs, three kills and two blocks; Mak’s 30 digs, 15 kills and two serving aces; Swanson’s 22 kills, 18 digs, two blocks and one ace; Miles’ 17 digs, seven kills, one block and one ace; Herrick’s 14 digs, four kills and one ace; Von Gober’s eight digs; and Smith’s five kills, five digs and one block.

Both Albrecht and Swanson are ranked third best in the state’s Division-3 statistics for assists (1,009) and attacks/kills (429), respectively, as of presstime.