Pumas claw back for win

<p>One year ago almost to the day, Maria Carrillo was unceremoniously dumped from the NorCal Division II volleyball tournament. The senior-laden and talented Pumas entertained St. Francis on Wednesday night with that stinging loss still in their memories.</p><p>This year, surely a win in the first round would be coming, a reward really for two years of grit and determination by the Pumas, who won their second consecutive North Coast Section championship this season but had never won a state playoff game.</p><p>After falling behind 2-1 and looking as if a repeat of that awful loss to Rocklin at home last year was in the making, the Pumas, led by seniors Ally Sather and Lilly Wolfe, rallied to defeat the Troubadours in five hair-raising games, 20-25, 25-23, 12-25, 25-13, 15-12.</p><p>The No. 4 seeded Pumas (31-5) advance to the second round on Saturday against powerhouse Archbishop Mitty, ranked second in the nation and No.1 in the state. Mitty handled Foothill, 25-17, 25-14, 25-17.</p><p>“The team never got down, even after we lost game three,” Wolfe said. “We played our hearts out. We buckled down and got going. We wanted to make history with our first NorCal win.”</p><p>Handling the Troubadours, who were athletic and accomplished, is one thing. However, defeating the Mitty Monarchs, who consider the season a bust if the state finals are not on the schedule, will be formidable. They have been to the state finals five the past six years, winning the title in 2003 and 2004. Over the past four seasons the Monarchs are 151-9, and will carry a 40-1 record into the contest against Carrillo.</p><p>“We will go out there with nothing to lose,” Wolfe said. “It will be fun to play the second-ranked team in the nation.”</p><p>At least the NorCal finalist will not have to face defending state and national champ Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach, which has seven state titles. The Mustangs were defeated by Santa Margarita in the section playoffs. That alone should generate an attitude of we’ve-got-a-shot this year for the NorCal representative. </p><p>“I’m excited for the opportunity to play them,” Sather said. “It will be a challenge.”</p><p>Sather led the Pumas with 26 kills, many coming on key points to keep Carrillo in the match. She also had nine digs. Wolfe, one of the premier setters in the state, had 42 assists. Caylee Seitz, who had six of her 11 kills in the fourth game, had the last point of the game on a kill off a nice set from Wolfe.</p><p>“It feels really good to get by this one,” said Carrillo coach Jeff Nielsen. “We knew it would be a super hard match. I think this was our best and most sustained effort of the season. </p><p>“After game three we focused on being good teammates, playing like a team. Lilly did a good job of mixing it up. Even though Ally got plenty of swings, we were able to slow them down by getting the ball to other girls. All the girls came up big for us.”</p><p>Erin Stoddard and Kacey Clark each had 12 kills for St. Francis (27-14), the runner-up in the Sac-Joaquin section and winner of the River Delta league.</p><p>“I think they showed their experience and we showed our youth in that fifth game,” said St. Francis coach Alynn Wright.</p><p>After St. Francis put together a nice run to win game one, the Pumas regrouped to get even with Sather picking up seven kills in game two. The game was tied 16 times, the last at 23-23. Then Devin Andrews-Lyssy found the open court on the left side for a point and Wolfe ended the game with a service ace.</p><p>The Pumas would just as soon forget game three. They were outplayed and looked out of sync. To their credit, they rallied to send the game to the fifth game. Haley Whitman had a big say in the outcome with nine service points. </p><p>The spirited fifth game ended with Pumas fans on their feet. Sather, playing her last game at Carrillo, appropriately enough ended the match with a kill.</p>