Girls volleyball: Branson positioning for playoffs after win against Redwood

The Branson School girls volleyball team made the trip to Redwood’s gym on Wednesday night looking to take a huge step toward wrapping up the MCAL regular-season title and the top seeds in both the league and North Coast Section Open tournaments that could come with it.

After finishing the first set with a late flourish, the Bulls pounced on the Giants quickly in the second set to take control of the match en route to a 25-22, 25-15, 25-15 victory.

“The key was really momentum,” Branson’s Ella Tsai said. “We knew that going into the game we wanted to have a lot of energy and we really wanted to win this game because it was important to us. Going into the first set we were a little bit rusty to start but then once we got our momentum going, we got our energy, we got hyped up and we really found the drive and motivation to play our best.”

Branson’s best could be enough to see it earn the top seed in the inaugural NCS Open Division tournament, which starts at the end of the month. The top six teams in the section – which currently includes Branson (17-5, 6-0 MCAL), Marin Catholic (21-5, 5-1), and Redwood (20-3, 4-2) – will be selected to compete in the Open Division.

“I feel like we have done a lot of great things in the last month so I think we put ourselves in a very positive position,” Branson coach Michelle Brazil said of the Open. “But just because it’s been good for the last month doesn’t mean it’s going to stay good. We have a lot of work to do. We actually –  believe or not – have a lot of growing to do and a lot of improvements to make. While I’m really proud of our game and our executed game plan today, I still have pages of things that I want to continue to work on.”

The Bulls remained a game in front of Marin Catholic in the MCAL and moved two games in front of Redwood with two games to play. Branson holds head-to-head tiebreakers over both having beaten the Wildcats and Giants in league.

Redwood looked poised to take the first set against Branson, rallying out of an 11-16 deficit to take a 21-19 lead on a kill by Hanna Smith.

“Their energy stayed really consistent which was kind of hard to shake,” Branson’s Abby King said of the Giants. “I think we got there by the end of the game, trying to really get in their heads. They had really good, aggressive swings. They were taking rips at every single ball. I don’t think they ever got tentative.”

Branson came roaring back to win six of the final seven points, getting kills from four different players in Blake Cussen, Tsai, Abby King, and Ellie Corsello – plus a key block from setter Celia Tolmie.

“The most exciting part about today for me was how well balanced our offense was,” Brazil said. “When that happens it’s hard to key in on one person because we have so many people who can score points. So as a result, it makes it really challenging to commit the block to one person.”

Elena Fisher paced the Bulls with 13 kills. Tolmie dished out 44 assists and varied up the attack to enable three other players – King, Cussen and Tsai – to all rack up 10 kills apiece.

Branson seized even more of the momentum with a 10-2 start to begin the second, essentially claiming two sets within the span of about 10 minutes.

The Giants got off to a better start in the third but Branson gained some separation in the middle of the set, getting three kills from Cussen in the span of five points to take a 15-11 lead.

Branson’s block also made a big impact in the third set, making the Giants work even harder to get the ball back across the net. On one point, Branson blocked three Redwood swings in a row as the Giants scrambled to try and stay in the match.

King and Tolmie finished with six blocks apiece and Tsai added four blocks. Libero Lauren Dignan paced the Bulls with 13 digs and Fisher added 10 more.

Madeleine Wagner had 14 kills to lead Redwood. Haley Boyarski came in off the bench to hit .333 and finish with five kills.

Around the county

• Emmeline Sandgren had 20 assists, five kills, and five blocks as Tam defeated San Marin, 25-5, 25-17, 25-7 on Wednesday. Natalia Clifford paced the Red-tailed Hawks (18-6, 4-3) with nine kills. Jade Curtin-Savala had 10 digs and Eva Hart added four kills.
• Muriel Harris and Katie Murphy tallied a team-high 13 kills apiece as Marin Academy won its second consecutive game, 25-14, 25-16, 24-26, 25-10 against Lick-Wilmerding on Wednesday. The Wildcats (12-10, 2-3 BCL West) got a combined 36 assists and seven aces from setters Courtney Wang and Ellie Yasuda.