OAKLAND — The Kelseyville Knights put up a fight every step up the away only to end up on the wrong end of a 26-24, 25-19, 25-23 decision to the Head-Royce Jayhawks on Wednesday night in the semifinal round of the North Coast Section Division IV volleyball playoffs in Oakland.
Kelseyville (33-6), the No. 3 seed in the Division IV field, is likely to receive an at-large berth into next week’s Northern California playoffs. No. 2 seed Head-Royce (27-6) advances to the sectional championship game on Saturday and will play either No. 1 seed Branson School of Ross or No. 4 Justin-Siena of Napa for the Division IV title.
“I think we’re going to apply for it,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said of the NorCal playoffs, of which the 16-team bracket will be released on Sunday.
The Knights last went to the NorCals in 2016, losing to Monte Vista Christian of Watsonville in a first-round match.
“We tried,” McCallister said of Kelseyville’s match with Head-Royce. “It wasn’t a bad match, we just didn’t win. We had them on the run a couple of times but just couldn’t do it.”
While the Knights possess a formidable attack with the likes of Allison Bryant and Grace Davidson leading the way, the Jayhawks countered with a big middle hitter and junior outside hitter Isabella Lipacis.
“She’s just marvelous,” McCallister said of Lipacis’ hitting ability and uncanny accuracy, especially with shots down the line. “They’re a very good team and they just had more power than we did.”
Grace Davidson may have had the best outing of all the Knights with 11 kills and 16 digs.
“She’s all heart, always positive and does a lot of nice things for this team,” McCallister said.
Allison Bryant led the Knights with 18 kills, Payton Conrad finished with 26 digs and Paige Bour had 20 assists. Kat Brown’s all-around play was another plus, according to McCallister, and the senior, a first-year volleyball player, had two blocks.
“They sure went a long way,” McCallister said of the Knights’ outstanding 2018 season, which may not be over yet.
Kelseyville won the North Central League I championship with a 14-0 record, the team’s fourth straight league title in a row. The Knights beat St. Helena in three straight sets in their sectional opener and rallied to beat Cardinal Newman in a five-set thriller Saturday night in the quarterfinals at Kelseyville.
“It’s always sad when you lose at the end, but someone’s gotta lose,” McCallister said. “We didn’t play very well in the second set, but the other two were point to point.”
McCallister said she’ll give her players Thursday off before resuming practice on Friday. If the Knights land an at-large berth in the NorCals, they’ll return to action on Tuesday against an opponent and at a site to be determined. The quarterfinals are Nov. 8, the semifinals are Nov. 10, and the NorCal championship match is Nov. 13.
The NorCal and SoCal winners play for the state championship on either Nov. 16 or Nov. 17.
