Cambria Lyon but the final spike down and she and her Pacific Grove High School teammates celebrated with high fives all around. With that, perhaps the best season in Piedmont’s girls volleyball history came to an end.
Yes, the Highlanders fell 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 in the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation Division 3 tournament on Nov. 10. But so much happened along the way.
The first North Coast Section championship in school history. Just the second state championship berth in school history. A playoff run where the team disrupted opponent after opponent with their gritty defense, deceptive serves and team play. And a 19-14 record on the season, best since the 2017 team went 16-8. The program also hadn’t won a playoff game since 2015.
“I’m so proud of our team for making it this far,” Maika Ting said. “Allyson (Huynh) was saying, ‘If you had told us last year that we’d be making it this far,’ I’d be like, ‘Who are you talking about?’ Honestly, if they told us four weeks ago, I’d be like, ‘Damn, we improved crazy!
“It’s just so sad to see the season end because I feel like this is the team I’ve bonded with the most and I’ve made the strongest connections here. Yeah, we go in five days a week, but it’s all so worth it to have those wins and have those memories.”
Said Huynh, when asked if she would have believed the Highlanders could play in the state tournament four weeks ago, “Not at all. Not at all. I had a realization moment a couple of weeks ago. We were at practice and we had a long rally and at the end, I was like, ‘Dang. We’re good.’ I didn’t have that moment until that practice. ‘We are a top level team. We are very good.’ Just that moment really instilled my confidence for the rest of the season.”
Said coach Mike Glass, “It was a great run, great season. I’m really proud of how they came in against a very, very solid one seed here. And they played tough. They weren’t intimidated.”
Piedmont received the 16th seed in the Northern California bracket and had to face the top-seed in Pacific Grove. The Breakers are 28-5 now on the season, sweeping the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division with a 14-0 record and finishing as the runner-up in the Central Coast Section Division 4 tournament to the Menlo School.
It was a tough draw for the Highlanders, who were effectively seeded as the 54th-best team in Northern California. Pacific Grove boasted two outstanding hitters, a bigger lineup across the court and a solid defense.
Breakers coach Jody Garry said her team prepared for a difficult task.
“I think they’re great,” Garry said of Piedmont. “I watched a lot of video and was super-impressed with all the kids he cycles in. A lot of tall talent. The goal was to try to defensively do a nice job against (Ting), who is an outstanding outside hitter. They have a tough serving game.
“They’re a worthy opponent.”
Ting said that while it was a tough assignment, “Coming in, we knew this would be such a tough match. We did not get seeded well to be honest. Coming in as the 16th playing the first seed is a huge challenge.
“We wanted to play our best, we wanted to play our hardest but we knew if we ended (our season here), it wouldn’t be the most terrible thing. We just wanted to end on a good note. And I think we did that.”
With only two seniors on the roster, the future is very bright.
“We’ve developed this team so much within the year span and knowing that we have a sustainable (program for) next year, I’m so excited to come back next year and keep pushing us further,” said Ting, a junior.