Urban defeats Kelseyville in four sets, dropping Knights into third-place match
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KELSEYVILLE >> Sometimes you just get beat, and one of those times was Wednesday night as the Urban Blues came up with the big plays at just the right time in the first, third and fourth sets to win a hard-fought North Coast Section semifinal-round play match with the Kelseyville Knights, 25-23, 10-25, 27-25, 25-22.
The difference between the two teams was negligible. Urban (14-12), the No. 9 seed with three straight road playoff victories under its belt will meet No. 3 Convent of the Sacred Heart in an all-San Francisco Division 4 championship game Saturday. Meanwhile, Kelseyville (21-8), the No. 4 seed, travels to No. 2 Montgomery in the third-place match Saturday, a NorCal playoff at-large berth going to the winner.
Apart from a second set completely dominated by the Knights, co-North Central League I champions this season, Kelseyville and Urban were never separated by much in the first, third and fourth sets. Both teams had leads late and both teams lost leads late. Urban, the third-place team in the highly competitive Bay Counties West League this season, was able to set up its big hitters a little better down the stretch, and the Blues made the most of those crunch-time opportunities despite the best efforts of a strong Kelseyville defense.
“Kelseyville varsity came to play,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said of the Knights. “They never gave up and stayed with a really solid, skilled team. The Kelseyville community is proud of each of the girls who have worked hard all season.”
Added McCallister, “We look forward to traveling to Montgomery High School to compete for third place on Saturday,” McCallister said of the 5 p.m. match in Santa Rosa.
Pretty much every Knight was involved in keeping the outcome of Wednesday’s semifinal in doubt to the very last point. Mati Mateer, a senior, had a big night at the net with 15 kills and two blocks while sophomore Riley Hanson added 12 kills while also tying teammate Madeline Borghesani for the most assists with 24. AJ Wurm led the team with 27 digs and also had three aces.
Major contributions also came from Bella Patti with 18 digs, five kills and three aces, Madison Byrne with nine kills and seven digs, Olivia Bushey with nine kills, Jordyn Wurm with four kills and one block, and Liberty Lewis with 10 digs.
“The one thing I appreciate is how the girls actually cheer and support each other no matter what is going on in the match,” McCallister said. “That team bond is what has fueled their season and produced the number of wins that they have achieved. Our goal was to win the NCL I league title (Kelseyville tied Cloverdale the championship). We never talked about how far we could get in playoffs. They have far exceeded my expectations.”
McCallister said she wouldn’t mind adding a third-place section finish to that list of accomplishments and a trip to the NorCal bracket of the state playoffs next week. Kelseyville’s last trip to the NorCals was in 2018.
