Bishop O’Dowd won the Northern California Division I title and is headed down to Santiago Canyon College in Orange County for this weekend’s CIF state championship match, where they will face Temecula Valley.
The Dragons defeated St. Francis of Mountain View in four sets, swept California in three and then held off St. Francis of Sacramento 25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12 to advance to Tuesday night’s finale.
Their opponent was the big bracket-buster, Archbishop Mitty.
The Monarchs were not the dominant team of the past two decades, but a late-season rush produced three upsets leading into the NorCal title contest with the Dragons.
Twelfth-seeded Mitty went on the road to upend fifth-seeded Oak Ridge in five sets, fourth-seeded Amador Valley in four sets and then top-seeded Foothill 15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20.
Dragon destiny prevailed over Mitty magic for the championship as Bishop O’Dowd won two tight first sets on the way to the big trophy, 26-24, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17.
The Dragons are led by Michelle Ohwobete and Jasmine Powell on the attack, setter Alexandria Holland directing that offense, and Annabella Pirotta on the defense.
Other notable Division I results included Amador Valley dispatching Menlo-Atherton in four sets and Foothill needing five sets to send away No. 16 Notre Dame-Belmont.
The red-hot Los Altos Eagles flew straight through Division II to grab a NorCal title and a trip down south to meet Village Christian of Sun Valley.
Los Altos dumped Branson in four sets, Chico in four sets and then swept a strong Aragon team, which had just bounced Central Catholic and Carondelet, each in five sets. Los Altos’ 25-18, 25-16, 25-23 victory over the Dons launched the Eagles into the NorCal final, where they took care of Cosumnes Oaks 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19.
Los Altos is led by setter Lauren Wang, setter/right side Katie Kishton, kill leader Naomie Cremoux, outside hitter Jackie Wang, and libero Kaitlyn Wong.
In Division III, the Presentation Panthers put together another late-season charge to make a second straight trip to the state finals.
Last season’s squad rebounded from an 0-10 West Catholic Athletic League slate to win the NorCal Division V title and added a five-set comeback victory over Rancho Bernardo for the CIF Division V state title.
This year’s edition, after a 1-9 WCAL season, started with an 8 seed and swept No. 9 Soquel, hit the road to shock No. 1 Yosemite and then took down No. 4 Christian Brothers in four sets.
The Panthers then faced Head-Royce and beat the sixth-seeded Jayhawks for the NorCal title 25-10, 20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8.
Head-Royce had a great run of its own, featured by a sweep of No. 11 Aptos, a 5-set upset of No. 3 Del Oro and then a victory over No. 10 Miramonte 25-22, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12.
Presentation is led offensively by Sophia Strass and Jenna Sandall and on the defense by Haley Hurst and Sandall.
Headlines in other divisions included the Open bracket, which turned into a Fresno festival, as Central and Buchanan navigated the two early rounds, while Region teams tumbled.
Fourth-seeded James Logan was eliminated by fifth-seeded Central in the quarterfinals, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18.
Sixth-seeded St. Ignatius lost its opener to third-seeded Marin Catholic, which lost to Buchanan in the next round.
Top-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral edged Ponderosa in five sets but fell in the semifinals as Central topped the Irish 13-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 15-12.
Central won the Open title over their neighbor Bears 25-23, 25-22, 28-26 and will face powerhouse Mater Dei of Santa Ana as the Monarchs rallied past Marymount in five sets for the SoCal crown