Three-seed Naperville Central girls water polo and Waubonsie Valley square off for a chance to play against Naperville North in the sectional finals. The Warriors defeated the Redhawks 7-6 in the regular season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

Kaylee Shiffer records an early hat trick for Naperville Central

In the early going, Julia Weber finds Kaylee Shiffer near the net, and she puts the Redhawks on the board. It’s 1-0 after three minutes of play.

Now in the second quarter, the Warriors are looking to answer. Malini Madiman passes to Reece Clavey on the right wing, and she tosses it over the goalie’s outstretched arms. That one ties the game at 1-1 with five minutes left in the half.

Minutes later, Maddie Malinger connects with Kaylee Shiffer near the goal, and she goes up high for another score. Shiffer now has a hat trick, giving the Redhawks a 4-2 lead with three minutes to play in the second quarter.

Waubonsie Valley girls water polo keeps it close in the IHSA Girls Water Polo Sectional Semifinal

With a minute left in the half, Reece Clavey delivers a perfect pass to Calin Ball, and she tosses it into the back of the net. The Warriors close the gap to 4-3 with one minute left in the half.

Now in the second half, Meghan Tueting connects with Molly Moore, who gives a couple of pump fakes before firing it into the back of the net. That one extends the Naperville Central lead to 6-3.

Moments later, Calin Ball passes it ahead to Ruby Meier, and she’s all alone. She goes one-on-one with the goalie and wins the battle. It’s now a 6-4 game with four minutes to play in the third quarter.

Meier and Weber score two more, and Central girls water polo defeats Waubonsie

After a penalty, Ruby Meier has a free shot at the goal against Eleni Nicoloudes. She targets the top corner, but Nicoloudes gets a hand on it and keeps it out of the net. The big save preserves the Redhawk lead at 6-4.

With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Megan Tueting throws it to Julia Weber in front of the net, and she’s able to ward off the Waubonsie defenders and score another goal for Naperville Central. That one gives the Redhawks an 8-4 lead. Waubonsie Valley goes on to score two goals in the fourth, but Naperville Central hangs on to win 8-6, advancing to the sectional finals against Naperville North.

SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

FINALS 

At Cerritos College 

DIVISION 3

Tesoro d. Orange Lutheran, 25-16, 25-16, 27-25

DIVISION 5

Kennedy d. Esperanza, 23-25, 27-25, 25-20, 26-24

DIVISION 9

CAMS d. Downey Calvary Chapel, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19

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DIVISION 6

El Toro d. Quartz Hill, 17-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-19

At Santa Barbara 

DIVISION 4

Sage Hill d. Santa Barbara, 15-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-20, 15-8

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

FINALS 

At Cerritos College 

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa d. Huntington Beach, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11

At Mater Dei 

DIVISION 2 

Mater Dei d. Peninsula, 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-19

At Crossroads 

DIVISION 8

Wildwood d. Katella, 25-22, 25-15, 25-15

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS 

FINALS 

DIVISION 7

San Gabriel Academy d. Brea Olinda, 3-2

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Tyler Hendrickson was born and raised in Long Beach, and started covering sports in his hometown in 2010. After five years as a sportswriter, Tyler joined the athletic department at Long Beach State University in 2015. He spent more than four years in the athletic communications department, working primarily with the Dirtbags baseball program. Tyler also co-authored of The History of Long Beach Poly: Scholars & Champions.

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With the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Championship Plaque at its fingertips the Santa Barbara High boys’ volleyball team had no answer for Sage Hill and its superstar outside hitter Jackson Cryst.

The visiting Lightning took control in the decisive fifth set behind Cryst’s dominance and captured a 15-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 15-8 victory on Saturday afternoon at J.R. Richards Gymnasium.

“To get here is quite an accomplishment, but to win it is even harder,” said Santa Barbara High coach Chad Arneson. “Give our boys a lot of credit they played hard. Unfortunately it wasn’t one of our best overall team performances, but I’m so proud of these boys.”

The Dons advanced to the CIF-SS Division 4 Championship games despite finishing third in the Channel League. Santa Barbara has thrived in the playoffs as a balanced unit with nearly equal contributions coming from everyone on the floor.

Senior Benicio Duarte  sophomore Hayes Costner led the way for Santa Barbara offensively with 12 kills apiece. 

“I’m proud of our guys. We did not look this good at the start of the season,” said Santa Barbara High senior defensive specialist Jack Goligoski, who finished with a team-high three aces . “This whole playoff run, we’ve kind of found our lineup and everyone’s just stepped up and played great team volleyball. We don’t have any real standouts, but we always play really well together.”

Santa Barbara was dominant in the opening set, including a 5-1 run capped off by a Costner kill for the final point. However, Sage Hill flipped the script in set 2, jumping out to a 17-7 lead and evened the match at one set apiece after an electric ace serve by Cryst.

Sage Hill humped out to a 4-0 lead in set three after a Santa Barbara hitting error, but the Dons quickly recovered and tied the set at 6-6 on a kill by Kristian Dybdahl. 

The momentum shift was evident as a Luke Zuffelato kill increased the Santa Barbara lead to 19-13. A dump by Santa Barbara setter Chase Holdren brought the Dons to set point at 24-18 and Santa Barbara clinched the set on a Sage Hill hitting error.

Set four was tight throughout as a solo block by Zuffelato cut the Santa Barbara deficit to 22-20 and forced a Sage Hill timeout. 

Cryst delivered a powerful spike out of the timeout to give Sage Hill a 23-20 lead and the Lightning went on to force a fifth and final set after an ace serve by Ethan McNutt.

In set five, a kill by Costner cut the Santa Barbara deficit to 7-6, but  a Cryst kill gave Sage Hill a 9-7 lead and forced a Santa Barbara time out.

After the break Sage Hill closed the match on a 6-1 run, including three powerful kills by Cryst and a solo block that gave the lightning a 14-8 lead. Sage Hill clinched set five and the CIF-SS Championship on a Santa Barbara hitting error.

Cryst, who is committed to play college volleyball for  reigning NCAA Division 1 National Champions Long Beach State, had six kills in the fifth set.

“We definitely rely on him, but the others that contributed absolutely made an impact and made his job easier,” said Sage Hill coach Jordan Hoppe of Cryst. “Obviously he is very talented and has incredible gifts, but without the other guys we don’t win a title.”

The victory clinched back-to-back CIF-SS Championships for Sage Hill as the Lightning won in Division 5 last season. 

NORWALK — Just two years removed from a 1-23 season, the El Toro boys volleyball team reached the summit and made school history in the process.

The Chargers capped a sensational turnaround Saturday with a victory over Quartz Hill in four sets, 17-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-19, in the Division 6 final at Cerritos College.

It is the first CIF-SS boys volleyball championship for El Toro.

El Toro coach Sean Dixon, in his third-year at the helm, reflected on the journey that saw his team go from nearly worst to first.

““To be the first program to do it at El Toro and really to be a program that started at the bottom and made it to the top,” Dixon said, “obviously we have state next week, but, you know, they’re going to remember this for the rest of their lives. And it’s going to be such a good experience that they look back on fondly.”

Senior outside hitter Ryan Lim collected a match-high 24 kills and 14 digs for El Toro (18-15), which was the No. 2 seed in Division 6.

Senior Jeremy Gould finished with 12 kills,12 digs and three aces and Ziyuan Liu added 10 kills. Senior setter Moses Kim had 52 assists while controlling the action while Ben Earnsahw and Colin Fletcher provided key plays in crucial moments.

The Royals (27-13) took the opening set thanks to their middle blocker, Joseph Bonner, who had four kills in the set. Quartz Hill also tallied six total blocks at the net.

“I think we were all a little bit nervous and to be fair, I think that is a good thing,” Dixon said. “But it was really nothing new for us. This is, I want to say, the fourth match in a row where we’ve been down a set at a certain point.”

Lim shared his thoughts on the pregame and opening-set jitters as well.

“I was feeling it myself, the entire bus ride here, to be honest,” Lim said. “Yeah, I was walking here, and my hands were shaking and everything. First set, my chest was tight and everything, and I guarantee you, the other guys were feeling it too. But, you know, once we get in our rhythm, we ball out.”

“I give credit to our two captains, Moses Kim and Ben Earnshaw, for really just keeping the guys calm on the court,” Dixon said. “Li bringing everyone in after every point. I think that was just the biggest difference.”

The Chargers fought off a set-point opportunity for the Royals in the second set, on a swing by Earnshaw, then after a service error , found themselves in danger of going down 2-0 in the match once again.

Lim’s kill and Fletcher’s ace gave El Toro a chance at their own set point, which Gould helped win, 28-26, after a long rally and a tough swing at the pin.

“We just kind of got fired up after that (first set),” Gould said. “We’re like, ‘We can’t let this be our last play, you know? We gotta just bring all we have.”

Dixon praised Lim’s play, especially as the match progressed. Lim had eight kills in the second set, five in the third and six in the fourth.

“He’s just one of those guys that gets stronger as the game goes on,” Dixon said.

Dixon took one final introspective glance at his team’s journey and described the joy it brought him.

“I’m more happy for the guys because it’s really tough to win only one match (in 2023) and really just to stay positive after you’re basically losing every game,” he said. “I’m just so happy for them. You know, they really worked hard. I just remember them being young sophomores who really just got their first taste of varsity. A lot of them didn’t play JV, it’s just incredible.”

By Bill Hester, Special to the Post-Dispatch

Area state medalists