Day one of opening-round play in the North Coast Section volleyball playoffs was a good one for the H-DNL teams.
Five local schools qualified for the postseason and three of them were in action on Tuesday night.
And all three successfully navigated their opening games, two of them in straight sets.
In the Division-3 bracket, the No. 7 seeded Eureka girls opened against No. 10 Petaluma at Jay Willard Gymnasium and won in straight sets, 25-21, 25-20, 25-18.
That victory sets up a quarterfinal showdown at No. 2 Justin-Siena on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
In Division-5 action, the No. 11 St. Bernard’s Crusaders opened on the road at No. 6 Healdsburg and knocked off the higher seeds in a five-set thriller.
The SB girls, who were the last H-DNL team to win a Section championship in 2023, won 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 14-25, 15-10 and will also play a quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon.
The Redwood League co-champs will travel to play No. 3 International at 1 p.m.
After finishing third in this year’s Pacific League, the Del Norte Warriors received the No. 1 seed in the D-5 bracket and opened at home against No. 16 Richmond, winning in straight sets, 25-8, 25-10, 25-9.
The Warriors will now host No. 8 De Anza on Saturday afternoon, also at 1.
A fourth local team, Arcata, will open its playoff campaign on Wednesday night.
After finishing second in the Pacific League, the Arcata girls are seeded No. 11 in the Division-4 bracket and will open at No. 6 Encinal in Alameda at 7.
And rounding out the H-DNL teams in action this week, co-Redwood League champion Ferndale received the No. 3 seed and an opening-round bye in Division 6.
The Cats will host the winner of Wednesday night’s opening-round game between No. 6 Mendocino and No. 11 Fremont Christian in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
The most exciting game of the opening round involving a local team was at Healdsburg, where the Crusaders rallied from an early deficit to take a 2-1 lead in sets, before the host Greyhounds battled back to force a fifth and deciding set.
But the Crusaders, who had to travel for their playoff opener despite being a league champion, would answer the call late and secured the victory with a big fifth set.
The SB players did not allow the long trip south to take them out of their game.
“Wow, what a thriller of a night,” St. Bernard’s head coach Sejay Cyphers said. “It’s something special to be able to get out of the car after a long ride and perform excellently.”
And one young player in particular played a key role in the win.
Sophomore Mercy Tupua thrived on the big stage, turning in a huge performance after being called up from the JV squad.
“She is following in her sisters’ footsteps of becoming a great asset to Crusaders volleyball program,” Cyphers said of the young standout, referring to her older sisters, Sahara and Kyna. “She jumped into a new role and position last night. Not only is the pace of varsity much faster, but a playoff game to boot. So incredibly proud of her.”
With the win, St. Bernard’s improved to 13-18-1.
In addition to SB’s NCS title in 2023, the H-DNL has only ever claimed two other Section championships.
McKinleyville won one in 1986 and Ferndale in 1976.
