Nevada Union High School junior Mina Mason makes a block of an El Dorado spike for a point during Tuesday’s first round playoff game at home.
The Sac-Joaquin Section girls playoffs got underway this week, and after two rounds of play the Bear River Bruins are still roaring.
The No. 4 seed Bruins (28-9, 10-0 Pioneer Valley League) opened the postseason with a straight set win over Leroy Greene, 25-3, 25-6, 25-5, in the first round of the Division 5 playoffs Tuesday.
Leading the charge was junior Kaylee Vieira with 10 kills. Senior Liah Fuller added four kills and notched seven aces in the win. Arden Franks chipped in with five aces to go with six digs. Junior Amelie Lo Jocono and senior Heaven Lafata each tallied five aces. Senior libero Molly Fowler scored two aces and had five digs. And, freshman setter Aly Vieira led the team in assists with 15.
On Thursday, Bear River hosted No. 5 Stone Ridge Christian in the second round and knocked off the Knights in four sets, 25-12, 27-29, 27-25, 25-23 to advance to next Tuesday’s semifinal.
Bear River was led by Fuller, who notched 19 kills and two blocks. Kaylee Vieira and Lauren Richert each added 14 kills. Running the offense was Aly Vieira, who made a whopping 52 assists. Leading the defensive effort was Fowler, who finished with an impressive 35 digs.
Nevada Union’s AJ King serves the ball for an ace during Tuesday’s first round playoff win over El Dorado.
In the semis, the Bruins will face No. 1 seed Ripon Christian (33-5 overall, 14-0 Southern League), which had a bye through the first round and topped Delta Charter in the quarterfinals. The contest is set to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ripon Christian High School.
FALCONS FLY INTO SEMIS
Forest Lake Christian is also headed to the semifinals, but are doing so in the Division 6 bracket.
The No. 3 seed Falcons (17-12, 12-2 Central Valley California League) opened the playoffs Thursday with a straight set quarterfinal win over No. 6 Alpha Charter, 25-9, 25-8, 25-11.
Leading the FLC attack was junior Sadie Whaley with seven kills, four aces and nine digs. Junior Mariah Rue followed with four kills, seven aces and 12 digs. Sophomore Savannah Williams chipped in with four aces and a team-high 15 digs. Fellow sophomore Samara Tucker tallied four aces and a team-best 16 assists in the victory.
FLC will now hit the road to face No. 2 Sacramento Country Day (15-5, 9-3 Sacramento Metropolitan League) in the Division 6 semifinals Tuesday.
MINERS COME UP SHORT IN 2ND ROUND
Nevada Union junior Emma Kerley gets this one over the net for the Miners during Tuesday’s first round playoff win over El Dorado.
Nevada Union had its 2021 campaign come to a close Thursday night, falling on the road to No. 2 seed Christian Brothers, 25-12, 25-10, 25-17 in the second round of the Division 3 playoffs.
The No. 7 seed Miners (19-20, 9-3 Foothill Valley League) reached the second round after topping No. 10 El Dorado in the first round on Tuesday. In that contest, NU got big games from Koya Porter (11 kills, four aces, four blocks), Delaynee Dunbar (eight kills, five aces), Megan Conway (six kills, three blocks), A.J. King (five aces, 19 assists, seven digs), Rio Kane (12 digs) and Mina Mason (six blocks).
Christian Brothers advance to face No. 3 seed Manteca in the semifinals on Tuesday. No. 1 seed Lincoln faces off with No. 5 Central Catholic in the other semifinal.
The Nevada Union Miners sideline watches Tuesday’s match against El Dorado.
Coaches may be submit reports to Sports Editor Walter Ford at wford@theunion.com
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