Fantastic run for St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball ends in state 2nd round

RANCHO CUCAMONGA — A season that began in September and a playoff run that included stops all over Southern California came to an end for the St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball team Saturday evening.

The best march in school history was stopped by top-ranked Upland Christian Academy, which defeated the fifth-seeded Crusaders, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16, in the semifinals of the CIF State Division V Southern California Regional Semifinals at Rancho Cucamonga High.

With the victory, CIF Southern Section Division V-AA champion Upland Christian (26-7) earned a berth into Tuesday’s SoCal Finals.

On the flip side, St. Monica finished with a 25-5-2 record, a first-ever Southern Section Division V-A title earned the previous weekend with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Tarbut V’ Torah, and advancement to the state playoffs for only the second time in school history.

“I think there were certain things we could have done better, particularly with our defense,” St. Monica Coach Darren Bradley said. “Ultimately, though, we just played a better team. We had a great run this year, but tonight we met our match.”

Bradley pulled off a minor miracle this holiday season by having nine of his 10 players present for Saturday’s contest, which was only made possible when half the squad returned from out-of-town vacations to play.

Despite that good news, the Crusaders had trouble with a tall and deep Upland Christian squad that boasted 13 players, five of whom were 5-foot-9 or taller. St. Monica, by comparison, had one player 5-9 or taller.

The Crusaders were swept for the only time this season in a best-of-five format match with their best opportunity to salvage a game coming midway through the contest.

With Upland Christian committing a slew of errors, St. Monica raced to a 15-8 advantage in the second game that culminated on an ace from junior Molly Hagan.

The ace was answered by a kill from Eagles sophomore outside hitter Brooke Madkin, who tallied eight kills, three aces and two blocks.

Madkin’s kill kick-started a 12-3 run by Upland Christian capped on a Crusaders attacking error that gave the home team a 20-18 lead.

St. Monica knotted the score at 20 with a block from senior Rose Goodwin (three kills and three blocks) and an ace from Therese Boles (three kills).

Both teams then traded points with no squad taking more than a one-point lead before another Crusaders attacking error put Upland Christian at game-point, 24-22.

Upland Christian then closed the victory with a kill from opposite hitter Makenna Lundquist to win, 25-22.

“We were so, so close, but we did end up losing,” said Crusaders opposite hitter Michelle Hall, who, along with Goodwin and Boles, was a part of the only two state playoff teams in St. Monica Academy history. “It’s not all bad. We had a great run and I’m so proud to be a part of this.”

St. Monica fell behind, 9-2, in the first set before the Crusaders rallied to within 10-8 on an Eagles’ centerline violation.

That’s as close as St. Monica got, as Upland Christian responded with a 10-3 run to go up, 20-11, en route to a 25-16 win.

In the third set, the Crusaders fell behind, 14-7, and never pulled any closer than six points before senior middle blocker Rachel Holmes closed out a 25-16 win with a kill.

“It’s real bittersweet because you kind of never want this to finish and you think you could have done better,” Goodwin said. “We missed our serves and our defense could have been a lot better.

“Saying that, it’s real special to have been a part of this. I won’t forget it. I hope to play in college, but I don’t know if I can match this.”

After opening the first round of the Southern Section Division V-A playoffs Nov. 10 at home, the Crusaders were on the road at Walnut, Victorville, Avalon and Whittier in the Southern Section playoffs and started the state playoffs Nov. 24 in San Fernando before concluding at Rancho Cucamonga.

“This was a very stubborn team that didn’t give up,” Boles said. “You have to be able to go on that type of road schedule to win a championship. This team, our fans, they’re all amazing and I’m honored to have been a part of this.”