The historical Scotts Valley girls’ volleyball season continues. The accomplishments include the first-ever Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title and the first-ever Central Coast Section championship game appearance.
However, the Falcons fell inches short of another goal, a section title, losing a heartbreaker to rival Harbor in five furious and dramatic sets.
The Pirates rallied back to edge Scotts Valley for the CCS Division IV crown 25-23, 13-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-11 at Gunn High in Palo Alto.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum,” Scotts Valley coach Makayla Fish said. “We sometimes struggle when we lose a close set and it’s hard to switch it back on.”
Harbor pulled out a close win in the opening set, but the Falcons roared strongly in the next two sets.
Setter Ava Dumesny was finding hitters Hayden Smith and Rylee Giesen for big kills. Libero Shino Hashiguchi-Rosoff led a defense that sparkled against Harbor’s big hitters and was passing well.
The fourth set was a donnybrook as SV pulled ahead 23-21, but Harbor avoided the closeout.
In the fifth, the Pirates jumped on top early while fending off a Falcons rally that brought them within 12-11. Harbor scored the final three points to secure its seventh section title, and second in three years.
The contest also marked Harbor’s fourth straight CCS final appearance.
“We did really well in the second and third sets,” Fish said. “We were applying pressure with our strong serves and running our offense. But we know Harbor is a strong team and we opened the door for them in the fourth set. And we just couldn’t do it in the fifth set.”
The Falcons were led by Smith with 17 kills, two aces and 10 digs, while Giesen had 16 kills, 11 digs and five aces.
Harlan Hennager smashed seven kills and added two blocks, while teammate middle Makayla McDonnell contributed three kills and four blocks. Aila Papadopoulos connected for nine kills and added five aces and 17 digs. Dumesny passed off for 35 assists.
Dylan Schutz led Harbor with 16 kills and six aces. Opposite Cecile Novembre put down 15 kills, while Liberty Niesen added 11. Setter Gianna Fanara contributed 42 assists.
“I am really proud of our team,” Schutz said. “We went down but we kept playing. We stopped thinking and we just started playing. We played like we were having fun.”
Scotts Valley (23-6) continues its season with another first in school history, competition in the California Interscholastic Federation State NorCal playoffs.
The Falcons received a No. 11 seed in NorCal D-2. They play at No. 3 West Park, a new school that opened on the northwest side of Roseville in 2020, on Tuesday at 6pm.
The Panthers were runner-up in the San Joaquin Section Division 2 playoffs. They swept Mountain House, River City and Oak Ridge before losing 3-0 to Folsom in the title contest.
In last week’s CCS D-IV title match, Smith and Giesen shined all night for the Falcons.
SV really came alive in the second set as Papadopoulos dealt three aces and smacked two kills.
Dumesny diversified the attack to utilize the middle, with Hennager pounding four early kills as they bolted out to a 17-7 lead and cruised.
In the third set, Giesen was unstoppable with four early kills. The Falcons used a five-point run to build a 15-10 lead and rolled home.
The fourth set went back and forth. Harbor led 14-10 but Smith, Giesen and Hennager led the Falcons back.
An 8-2 charge produced an 18-16 lead and it was 23-21 when Harbor made a last stand.
Schutz went line twice in a closing surge and Novembre ripped a kill off the block for a 26-24 win. Harbor carried the momentum into the decisive fifth set.
“We were on our back foot the whole time in the fifth set,” Fish said. “We looked nervous. It was not what you hope to see in a fifth set.”
Hennager had three early kills but otherwise it was all Harbor as the Pirates built a 9-4 lead.
Giesen scored on a kill down the line and a roll shot as the Falcons climbed back off the carpet. With the SV fans screaming, the score narrowed to 12-11.
On the next play, Harbor’s Niesen put the ball down and it was nearly saved by a Scotts Valley pancake dig.
A lengthy referee and line judge discussion concluded the point went to Harbor as it was ruled the ball hit the floor as well as the hand. That made it 13-11 and November scored the final two.
“I’m proud of our girls’ resiliency,” Harbor head coach Matt Schutz said. “We play together well and we play defense well. We never really stopped their outside hitters but we have a balanced attack and our girls stepped up. Credit to Scotts Valley, but we were loose and had fun and we’re playing our best volleyball now.”
Afterwards, the Falcons consoled each other and gathered for the awards ceremony. The second-place trophy was a huge accomplishment for the school, yet the players took the loss hard, as they were so close to a victory.
The 2025 season showcased the rise of the Scotts Valley volleyball program. There had been no winning seasons since 2016 and as late as 2022, they were just 8-16, 2-8 in SCCAL play.
The 2023 squad went 19-11 and was 6-6 for fourth place in league play. The team advanced into the CCS D-IV playoffs, where it lost its opener to Harker.
In 2024, Scotts Valley improved to 22-11 overall, 7-5 and third place in the SCCAL. The Falcons defeated Stevenson and Monte Vista Christian in the postseason before falling to Harbor in the semifinals.
The 2025 team reached unprecedented heights, highlighted by the regular season SCCAL crown and the first-ever CCS finals appearance.
The squad now heads into more uncharted territory, the first expedition into the CIF State NorCal playoffs.
“We’re still alive in NorCals,” Fish said. “It’s another thing we’ve never done before. Once the dust settles on this, we’ll get back in the gym and go to work. We still have a road ahead of us.”
