Girls volleyball: Redwood rallies for reverse sweep in MCAL title game
Captains Maddy Wagner and Katie Lazzareschi were freshmen the last time the Redwood High girls volleyball team made it to the MCAL championship game in 2023.
The Giants ran into a Branson buzzsaw that year and were taken down in three quick sets. For two sets on Friday it looked like deja vu in the worst way as Marin Catholic came out on fire and played at an insanely high level to take a 2-0 lead.
Redwood kept on fighting, even as MC moved within two points of a sweep. Wagner came up with a flurry of big points to end the third, the Giants started the fourth on a heater, then rallied out of a hole in the fifth to finish the improbable reverse sweep – 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-12 — and win the MCAL title.
“I’m honestly in disbelief,” Lazzareschi said. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. This is my first banner and I don’t know. I feel like we’ve been working hard. I’ve been on the team since freshman year and it just feels good to finally get one.”
For much of the past decade, Redwood has been the third best juggernaut in a league with three of them. Redwood’s last championship came in 2015. Marin Catholic won five straight over the next six years – no title was awarded in 2020 – then Branson claimed the next three in a row.
“A reverse sweep is pretty hard to do but they have the grit, they have the fight and they wanted it,” Redwood coach Jane Seslar said of her team. “At the end of the day, that’s what is going to be the difference maker when two teams are pretty even.”
Both Redwood (19-8) and MC (24-6) are locks to make the North Coast Section Open Division playoffs – likely as the top two seeds in some order – when brackets are revealed on Sunday. Branson is likely to host a first-round game in the Open as well.
Redwood trailed for the entirety of the first two sets as MC came out with guns blazing. Carolina Delaney had a pair of early aces as the Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set and never looked back. Grace Basso was dominant in the first half of the second set.
Redwood grabbed its first lead of any kind at 4-3 in the third set and led 19-18 on a kill by Wagner. MC reeled off the next five points – including a pair of kills from Krystal Huff – to take a 23-19 lead.
A service error by MC opened the door for Redwood and Wagner stepped right through it, coming up with a crucial ace to get Redwood within 23-22 then another one to clinch the set at 25-23.
“That’s Maddy Wagner for you, taking it on herself,” Lazzareschi said. “She’s amazing. She holds our team together. She’s like the glue of our team. That was such a pivotal moment and she just took it home.”
Redwood found its ability to hit tough serves when it mattered most, with Wagner, Lazzareschi, and libero Liliana Huerta among the serving standouts.
“My mindset was that everyone is pushing so hard, the team is working so hard and we’ve worked on serving a lot in practice,” Wagner said. “Just going for it and knowing that OK you might miss but at least you’re going for it and doing it for the team.”
Redwood’s other big turning point was the play at the net. Marin Catholic enjoyed a ton of big swings and emphatic kills through the first three sets but the Giants elevated their defense along with their serving to turn the match around in their favor.
Redwood’s revival continued into the fourth set as the Giants raced out to 10-2 lead on an emphatic stuff block by Amelia Matthews. MC got within 21-18 but Lazzareschi came up with a clutch setter dump at an extreme angle, finding an open spot on the court for a 22-18 lead.
“It was a big momentum change for us,” Lazzareschi said. “Honestly what’s going through my head is to find a way to put the ball down. Sometimes as a setter it gets hard because you’re not the one scoring the points so it just feels good to have one for yourself and put the ball down. Sometimes you’ve just got to go for it, take big risks like that in the moment.”
Redwood closed out the fourth with a kill by Wagner, a block by Wagner, and a kill by Matthews to force a decisive fifth set.
MC roared out to a 9-5 lead on Rania Brody’s fifth setter dump point of the match, prompting Seslar to use a timeout. The Giants immediately came back with a kill then a block from Wagner, followed by a Lazzareschi ace to cut the lead to 9-8 and set the stage for perhaps the most pivotal point of the entire match.
Both teams played exceptional defense during a rally that felt like it lasted a full minute. Redwood’s Delaney Jackson, who earned more playing time recently by impressing Seslar in practice, ended the marathon point with a kill and suddenly Redwood was back level at 9-9.
“It felt really good to be able to contribute to the team and be able to get this big win under our belts and hopefully continue on to next year,” Jackson said.
MC went back in front 10-9 on a service error by Redwood but Wagner got another kill to make it 10-10 before going on another service run – including another ace – as Redwood took the lead for good.
Wagner made play after play late in both the third and fifth sets as Redwood completed the comeback. Wagner led Redwood with 21 kills while Logan Leverte added 12 and Jackson came up with seven.