Sports Briefs: Shewey powers Redwood volleyball to NCS finals

Redwood High senior Beckett Shewey slammed the ball to the court at the end of a long Tuesday night to send the fifth-seeded Giants to Thursday’s North Coast Section Division II boys volleyball finals.

Shewey had 35 kills in Tuesday’s five-set semifinal win over upset-minded Irvington, 25-14, 20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-9, in Larkspur. Charlie Gehrman and Evan Wang had seven kills each for the Giants. Gehrman served up four aces.

Redwood (26-7), seeking its first NCS title, advances to Thursday’s finals against No. 2 International (23-7), which won the NCS D-IV crown in 2024.

Redwood opened Tuesday’s match riding a seven-game streak and the momentum carried the Giants to a quick first-game win. Irvington led most of the second game, but needed a late push for the win.

Irvington (17-13) was on a mission to prove it was better than its No. 16 seed after the Vikings had already dispatched top-seeded College Prep and No. 8 Heritage, both in five sets. Irvington’s effective net play countered the Giants as the Vikings closed out a pair of narrow wins against Redwood.

The Giants, with strong play from senior Jack Alley and juniors Leighton Olsen and Gavin Atherton, pieced together rally after rally to win the third set. Irvington bounced back in the fourth game to force the fifth set, only the second time this season Redwood has gone five games.

Boys tennis

Redwood High made quick work of first-round opponent Maria Carrillo, 7-0, in Tuesday’s North Coast Section Division I matchup in Larkspur. The second-seeded Giants will host No. 7 Mission San Jose on Thursday.

The Giants took a quick lead as the top two doubles teams both won 6-0, 6-0 in efficient fashion. Singles wins by No. 1 Casra Afsharipour and No. 3 Lukas Berger clinched the win. Afsharipour beat the Pumas’ No. 1 Alexander Yoen 6-1, 6-1. Berger worked the corners for a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Will Greenwald won 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 singles for Redwood, and No. 4 Tug Ricordel overpowered Sungye Kim for a 6-1, 6-3 victory in a baseline battle. Redwood’s No. 3 doubles team closed out the day with a 6-2, 6-3 win as the wind started to kick up.

“I’m kind of a tall guy and I have a big serve, so I was able to use the entire court playing singles,” Ricordel said.

• No. 8 Marin Academy secureda 5-2 victory over No. 9 Piedmont at Marin Tennis Club in Tuesday’s NCS D-II opener. The Wildcats advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Head Royce in Oakland.

• No. 5 Branson swept No. 12 College Prep, 7-0, at College of Marin in a NCS D-II opening-round matchup. The Bulls are scheduled to travel to Lafayette for Thursday’s contest against No. 4 Acalanes.

• No. 7 Marin Catholic fell 4-3 to No. 10 Arcata in a NCS D-II match played in McKinleyville on Tuesday.