St. Ignatius beat one blueblood to reach the Central Coast Section Open Division girls volleyball final. The San Francisco school will have to defeat another to capture the title.
Three days after staging a stunning rally from two sets behind to defeat top seed and defending champion Archbishop Mitty in the semifinals, St. Ignatius will face St. Francis on Saturday evening for the championship at Palo Alto High School.
The match is one of 10 volleyball finals scheduled for Saturday across the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area in the CCS and North Coast Section.
The lineup will include, among others, Homestead taking on Salinas in the CCS Division I final at Palo Alto and Campolindo traveling to Tamalpais for the NCS Division I crown.
The anticipated matchup in the CCS Open final was another installment of the rivalry between St. Francis and Mitty.
Mitty had the upper hand this season against St. Francis and SI, having defeated both three times without a loss before stumbling in the semifinals Wednesday.
It was all Mitty early that night, with the Monarchs breezing 25-14 in the first set and taking the second 25-21.
But then SI caught fire.
The Wildcats won the third set 26-24 and the fourth 25-23.
In the decisive fifth set, SI prevailed 16-14.
The triumph snapped SI’s 13-match losing streak to Mitty dating to 2019, with the San Francisco school winning just six sets in the losses.
In all, the San Jose powerhouse had beaten the Wildcats 30 of the previous 31 matches before the semifinal comeback.
Carol Manu, a senior, led SI with 20 kills on Wednesday. Eileen Pfeffer added nine kills and Boyd Killion and Neve Harlan each finished with eight kills.
Lauren Nip contributed 18 digs and Gia McManigal had four blocks for the Wildcats.
Now, SI will try to end a seven-match losing streak to St. Francis and capture the second CCS championship in program history. SI won Division III in 2010.
St. Francis, meanwhile, has won 18 CCS titles, most recently an Open crown two years ago.
The Lancers reached the final with a 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16 victory over Palo Alto.
Saturday’s championship schedule
CCS
Open Division
No. 4 St. Ignatius (22-12) vs. No. 2 St. Francis (27-5) at Palo Alto HS, 5:30 p.m.
Division I
No. 3 Salinas (23-10) vs. No. 1 Homestead (27-8) at Palo Alto HS, 3 p.m.
Division II
No. 3 Aragon (19-16) vs. No. 1 Monta Vista (21-10) at Palo Alto HS, 12:30 p.m.
Division III
No. 3 Soquel (17-13) vs. No. 1 Sacred Heart Cathedral (16-12) at Gunn HS, 12:30 p.m.
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Division IV
No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep (20-14) vs. No. 1 Harbor (21-9) at Gunn HS, 5:30 p.m.
Division V
No. 2 Crystal Springs Uplands (25-4) vs. No. 1 Summit Shasta (25-4) at Gunn HS, 3 p.m.
NCS
Division I
No. 4 Campolindo (27-8) at No. 3 Tamalpais (25-10), 7 p.m.
Division II
No. 3 University (21-8) at No. 1 Head-Royce (29-4), 7 p.m.
Division III
No. 4 Bethel (23-6) at No. 3 St. Joseph-Notre Dame (28-6), 7 p.m.
Division V
No. 11 Pinole Valley (10-14) at No. 5 Fort Bragg (13-10), 7 p.m.