File photo – Madelyn Shanahan and her teammates will play for a North Coast Section championship on Saturday night.

The St. Bernard’s Crusaders will play for a first-ever North Coast Section championship in volleyball after winning their Division-6 semifinal on Wednesday night.

The Crusaders, who are seeded No. 1, defeated No. 5 San Domenico in straight sets, winning 25-16, 25-8, 26-24.

The victory sets up a final showdown against No. 2 seed California Crosspoint on Saturday at St. Bernard’s at 7 p.m.

Not only will the SB girls be playing for the school’s first section crown in the sport but also just the third ever for the H-DNL and the league’s first since 1986.

The only two H-DNL teams to ever win a section championship were Ferndale in 1976 and McKinleyville 10 years later.

Madelyn Shanahan led the way in Wednesday’s win and finished with 15 kills, three solo blocks and three aces.

Rihanna Fontenot also was instrumental in the win and finished with seven kills and three aces, while Sahara Tupua had six aces and dished out 36 assists.

California Crosspoint, meanwhile, won its semifinal against Mendocino by a score of 25-19, 7-25, 25-12, 25-16.

The Hayward school improved to 21-2 on the season.

The Crusaders, who have not dropped a set in two playoff wins, are now 17-9 on the season.

Submitted photo