Foothill repeats as NCS Champions!
Foothill defeated Deer Valley in the North Coast Section Finals in a three game sweep 25-17, 25-13, 25-20.
For the third year in a row the Foothill Falcons Boys Varsity Volleyball Team advanced to the NCS Finals. Last year they had their breakout season and won it all.
This year the deck was stacked against them as 5 of their 6 starters graduated leaving huge holes to fill.
In addition all of the other teams in the EBAL were gunning for the Falcons in an attempt to dislodge them from their perch.
In the end the Falcons proved that this team was one for the ages. They not only repeated as EBAL undefeated league champions, but on Saturday in a stunning performance repeated as NCS champions too.
The championship match pitted the Falcons against the BVAL league champion Deer Valley, who had put together a great season of their own.
The Wolverines completed their season undefeated as well and added to the drama as two undefeated league champions squared off as the #2 NCS seeded team faced the #1 Falcons team for all the marbles.
For Foothill the team performance was nothing short of amazing as it took everything away from Deer Valley including their power hitting and left little doubt who the better team was on this night.
Game one Matt Rice put on an absolute clinic on hitting and blocking taking all the setting opportunities Junior Setter Dillon Martinez could put his way; and with help from teammate Nik Tertel who provided power-hitting of his own combined for a match kill total of 29.
Game two was a mistake free masterpiece as the Falcons exploded to take a 21-5 lead before Deer Valley got going. The large lead was too much to overcome and the Wolverines let game two slip out of their grasp 25-13.
With their backs to the wall and needing now to win three in a row Deer Valley came out strong and put it all on the line. This game featured great rally play that had both sides of the gym screaming and cheering for their team. However it was too little too late and the Falcons withstood the mad fury of Deer Valley and took game three and the match 25-20.
For those in attendance it was the chance to see great volleyball played at the highest level and congratulations goes out to both teams.
Although the evening ended on a down note for Deer Valley their program is in great hands with Coach Lou, and will be a force again next season.
For the Falcons they see another set of seniors leave the team, but have primed the pump with slated returning team members who Coach Dusty Collins will have ready to make their defense of their NCS and EBAL league crowns.
Boxscores:
FOOTHILL: Rice 15 Kills, 4 Blocks; Martinez 31 Assists, 1 Kill; Tertel 14 Kills, 2 Blocks, 1 Ace; Tim Duranleau 5 Kills, 2 Blocks, 1 Ace; Luke Greenaway 1 Kill, 1 Block; Jayme Hanan 6 Kills, 1 Ace. Foothill 38-3
DEER VALLEY: Smith 12 Kills; Aku 19 Assists, 1 Block; Bailey 6 Kills, 2 Blocks, 1 Ace; Brawley 5 Kills, 1 Block. Deer Valley 34-5
====== Reprint for Contra Costa Times ========
Steady Foothill repeats as section champions
• Rice and Tertel combine for 29 kills to lead the Falcons over Deer Valley in final
By Ricardo Sanchez Jr.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
PLEASANTON -- At the start of the season, Foothill High School boys volleyball coach Dusty Collins issued a challenge.
Despite the Falcons losing five of six starters, he wanted his team to prove it could repeat as the North Coast Section Class I champions.
On Saturday, Foothill lived up to expectations in dominating fashion.
Matt Rice finished with 15 kills and Nik Tertel added 14 kills as the Falcons completely took visiting Deer Valley out of its game to win their second consecutive NCS championship 25-17, 25-13, 25-20.
"It feels like a huge weight is off my back," said Rice, a senior opposite hitter. "There was a lot of pressure. People expected us to be the best team. We came out this whole season with a target on our backs. Everyone wanted to take us down, but we came out on top."
Rice, a 6-foot-6 nightmare in shorts to the opposing team, is the lone remaining starter from the 2006 Falcons. Foothill (38-3) is happy he stuck around as he put on full display the skills which earned him a full-ride scholarship to Cal State Northridge.
"He's as good a player as I've ever seen come out of this area," Deer Valley coach Lou Panzella said about Rice. "He just shut the net down on us. We didn't have any answer for him."
The early going in the first game was competitive, but Dillon Martinez set up Rice for four consecutive kills and Foothill began pulling away. In Game 2, the Falcons were nearly perfect and at one point led 21-5.
"We knew that we had to play our best match against them," Rice said. "We were able to shut down Justin Smith pretty well; he's a great hitter."
Smith, Deer Valley's power hitter, had a highlight reel blast in the first game that bounced off the face of Jayme Hanan, but finished with 12 kills and was not a factor.
Deer Valley (34-5) couldn't get anything going.
Said Panzella: "It was like a car on ice. The wheels are turning but it's not going anywhere."
Errors derailed Deer Valley, while Foothill remained steady. Whenever, the Wolverines made a key offensive play to gain momentum, they'd give it right back by serving out or into the net.
"We had untimely service errors," Panzella said.
Deer Valley, which lost to the Falcons in five games in a nonleague match in March, was playing in only its second NCS final in school history.
Contact Ricardo Sanchez Jr. at rsanchez@cctimes.com.
====== End of Reprint ==========
What a year!
-GO FALCONS!
