PALO ALTO — Archbishop Mitty captured its 26th Central Coast Section volleyball title by sweeping rival St. Francis 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 at Palo Alto High.
The Open Division victory was the top-seeded Monarchs’ 11th straight in a late-season surge that has seen them win 32 sets and drop only one since Oct. 4.
“It’s really great to win,” senior outside hitter Makenna Crosson said. “We were really consistent as a team. They would triple block on the outside and we tried to set the middle and right side more.”
Chayse Courtney led Mitty with 19 kills and Crosson added 14. Setter Laurie Nguyen dished off for 34 assists and middle Nandini Mohan delivered seven blocks.
“I’m super proud of my girls,” Mitty coach Jake Spain said. “In addition to our outsides, Nandini (Mohan) and Katelyn Sentous were great in the middle and also Ellie Diehl Palmer on the right side.”
A four-point run, highlighted by two kills from Mohan, sparked Mitty to a first-set lead that held up. The Lancers fought back in the second set and led 12-9 but aggressive Mitty serving put them out of system At 17-17, the Monarchs closed with an 8-1 run behind four kills from Courtney. In the third set, Mitty broke away mid-set to build a small lead and St. Francis could not get closer than a deficit of three the rest of the way.
Third-seeded St. Francis, in its fourth straight Open Division finals appearance, has 19 CCS titles of its own and claimed the Open crown in 2022 and 2024. Ella Fulton led the Lancers with 11 kills and Josie Daniel added 10 kills.
“Credit to them (Mitty),” St. Francis coach Lake Merchen said. “Their two outsides (Crosson and Courtney) are incredible players. Thy executed well. We had some moments. I could not be more proud of our girls. Nobody likes to lose but we overcame a boatload of adversity and still found a way to get here. It shows the overall state of our program.”
Both teams continue play on Tuesday in the CIF NorCal playoffs. Brackets will be revealed on Sunday.
ELSEWHERE IN CCS
Third-seeded Milpitas won the Division I championship, rallying to beat top-seeded Menlo-Atherton 19-25, 28-26, 25-12, 25-22. The section title was Milpitas’ first. … In Division II, top seed Aragon needed four sets to defeat second-seeded Monta Vista at Palo Alto High, 28-26, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22. The victory avenged Aragon’s loss to Monta Vista in last year’s D-II final. The section title was Aragon’s fifth. … Second-seeded Archbishop Riordan won the Division III title, cruising past fifth-seeded Santa Cruz 25-20, 25-18, 25-22. … Summit Shasta captured the Division V title, toppling second-seeded Palma 15-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-18.
NCS FINALS
Third-seeded Carondelet won the Division I title, outlasting top-seeded Monte Vista 3-2. … In Division II, third-seeded St. Mary’s-Berkeley beat top seed University in four sets, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23. … Second-seeded Heritage won the Division III title, defeating fourth-seeded San Marin 25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-11.
