An exciting and competitive race for this year’s Redwood League championship in volleyball went right down to the wire on Tuesday night.
And with respective straight sets wins, the Ferndale and St. Bernard’s girls were crowned co-champs.
The Wildcats hosted Hoopa and won 25-20, 25-16, 25-21, while the Crusaders hosted South Fork and won 25-13, 25-15, 25-13.
Both schools finished league play 7-2.
It was also Senior Night for both championship teams.
“I am so proud of the seniors for the work that they put in and the energy and love they bring to this team,” Ferndale head coach SK Montiel Clark said of the class, that includes Fallon Bullan, Olivia Gossi and Dalia Cantu-Mendez. “To them I would say ‘Olivia, Fallon, Dalia, you are all awesome and your ream is lucky to have you. I will miss you three dearly and you have made coaching an absolute dream.’”
St. Bernard’s head coach Sejay Cyphers also paid tribute to her senior class, a group that includes Scarlett Zerlang, Kyna Tupua, Brittyn Ikeya, Samantha Sundberg, Gabby Qiao, Logan Tallman and Serafina Morgan.
“We have seven amazing seniors this year,” she said. “The class of 2027 has so many well-rounded athletes who play multiple different sports, but last night it was all about volleyball.
“I am going to miss my seven seniors dearly.”
Those seniors played key roles in the league-clinching victory.
Zerlang finished with a team-high seven kills and five aces, while Ikeya added four aces and three kills, Sundberg finished with five aces, two kills and two blocks, Tupua had three kills and four aces, Qiao had four aces and Tallman had two kills.
Junior Claira Hoffman also impressed and finished with a team-best eight aces.
“I’m so happy with how they’ve come together as a team,” Cyphers said.
The Ferndale seniors also played a key tole in helping to land the co-championship, which is the program’s first since 2013, according to MaxPreps.
It is also the 11th straight title for the Crusaders and the first one that they shared since Hoopa were co-champs with them in 2021.
Middle blocker Ki Giacomini had a big night for Ferndale and finished with a team-high 10 kills.
Giacomini was dominant on offense and “did a great job finding holes in their defense,” according to her coach.
Cantu-Mendez also impressed at setter and helped set her teammates up for success, while also playing well on defense, finishing with 12 digs.
Bullan added 13 digs.
“This goes to show the depth of our team,” the Ferndale coach added. “These girls are not just good in their positions, they are great volleyball players.”
Violet King led the Hoopa offense with four kills, while Tylie McKinnon and Vuunsip E-Kor each had three kills.
BellaAnn King had a good night at the service line and finished with a team-high four aces to go with a team-high 12 assists, while Luella Cosce finished with a team-best 12 digs, and E-Kor and Naress Crawford each had nine digs.
