Just one week after clinching a first conference title in seven years, the Eureka High volleyball team enjoyed another breakthrough moment on Wednesday night.

The Loggers were one of five H-DNL teams in action in the North Coast Section playoffs and defeated Del Norte in five sets, advancing past the first round for the first time in two decades or longer, according to head coach Stephanie Napoleon.

The Eureka girls will join Ferndale and St. Bernard’s in Saturday night’s quarterfinals.

Wednesday’s Division-4 game was the third matchup between Eureka and Del Norte this season and the third time the Loggers won in five sets (21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 16-14), with little to separate these two conference rivals once again.

But they had to dig deep, rallying from a 2-1 deficit in sets and a 14-13 deficit in the final set.

“I am real proud of their determination after losing the third set,” Napoleon said of her players.

The impressive Macy Secor, who has been among the Loggers’ top performers all season, stepped up late once again, serving the final three points when Del Norte had match point.

Secor finished the game with seven kills and five digs.

Alena Battle also had a big night for Eureka, finishing with 13 kills and four blocks, while Tiarah Maualuga had 11 kills and eight blocks.

The always dangerous Ramona Dusel had a good all-around game for Eureka and finished with 11 assists, 11 digs, four kills, three blocks and two aces.

“It’s really impressive the improvement she has made this year as a sophomore,” Napoleon said of Dusel.

Check out some game highlights from Eureka High above …

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Eddy Hale also impressed for Eureka and added 23 digs, while Violla Kingsang had 14 assists and eight digs.

The game was played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd with another exciting atmosphere.

“We had a great crowd tonight, which was amazing to see,” Napoleon said. “It truly means a lot to see so much support from the community family and friends.”

No stats were immediately available for the Warriors, who saw their season end.

The Loggers, who are seeded No. 5 in Division 4, will play their quarterfinal at No. 4 Kelseyville on Saturday night. 

In Division 6, St. Bernard’s and Ferndale also won their playoff openers.

The No. 5 Crusaders defeated No. 12 Brave Christian in straight sets, 25-18, 25-16, 25-12.

Logan Tallman had a big night for SB holding down the back row and leading he team in digs, while Makinsey Lemley led the Crusaders in assists.

“(She) was all over the floor,” St. Bernard’s head coach Sejay Sarti said of Lemley. “She had multiple diving saves.”

The coach added that “Brave Christian was a scrappy team that came to play.”

The win sets up a quarterfinal showdown at No. 4 St. Vincent de Paul on Saturday night.

The Ferndale girls, meanwhile, won in five sets to keep their season going.

The No. 11 Wildcats had to travel to play No. 6 Cornerstone Christian in Antioch, but the five-hour drive did not prove to be problematic.

“The girls played it out in all five sets,” Ferndale head coach SK Montiel Clark. “We left everything on the court. It was an awesome game.”

Senior team captain Amaya Mathews led the Cats with 17 kills, while Dalia Cantu-Mendez also impressed serving and finished with five service aces.

Check out some Arcata highlights below …

Ki Giacomini and Abby Gossi each chipped in six blocks in the win, while Fallon Bullan had a team-best 14 digs.

The win sets up a Saturday night quarterfinal showdown at No. 3 Laytonville, which had an opening-round bye.

“I’m so proud of all the hard work the girls have done to get to this point and we are looking forward to playing Laytonville on Saturday,” Montiel Clark said.

The Arcata girls also played in Division 4 on Wednesday night, hosting Pinole Valley.

The visitors, however, won an exciting five-set matchup at Arcata High, 25-23, 25-27, 26-24, 12-25, 15-11.

The No. 6 Tigers trailed 2-1 in sets but dominated the fourth set to keep their season going before ultimately dropping a close deciding set to the No. 11 seeds.

“Pinole Valley was tougher than we were expecting, but my girls rose to the challenge,” Arcata head coach Laurie Griffith said. “Several of them played the best volleyball I have ever seen them play.”

Nora Brumbaugh closed out a very impressive senior season with a team-high 16 kills in the loss, while Pearl Smith added 12 kills and Kyla Kinyon had eight kills.

Eli Kanzler also impressed for the Tigers and had a good night serving the ball, while Harper Appy dished out 40 assists.

Another senior, Aliyah Aaron, played like she did not want her high school career to end just yet.

The defensive specialist “played out of her mind defensively,” according to the coach, and finished with 15 digs.

“We fell short in the end, but seeing how much love these girls have for volleyball and each other was very inspiring,” Griffith said.

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