Following a win in the first round of the Division 4 California Interscholastic Federation State girls’ volleyball state playoffs, the Castaic Coyotes continued their historic run with a straight-set second-round sweep, 25-22, 25-18, 29-27, over the Fullerton Red Hawks on Thursday and advanced to the SoCal regional semifinals for the first time ever.
“I’m grateful. I’m excited. I think this was a much better win and it’s the next step,” Castaic coach Taylor Schubert said. “I think [we] came out nervous but the fact that we pulled it off is big time for us.”
With the win, the Coyotes (21-14) advanced to the program’s first-ever SoCal regional semifinals.
Not only has it been a historic season for Castaic, but also a memorable run for the Coyotes and Schubert as the team has gotten to host the first round and quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
After the game, Schubert said it’s been great to see the Castaic High School gym packed with fans and it has been a difference maker for her Coyotes during the game.
“They love playing at home in front of their home crowd,” Schubert said on her team’s motivation to play in front of their fans. “The cheerleaders have been great … it adds to it and [we] are appreciative of it. And not taking it for granted.”
And in Thursday’s win, the Coyotes used the energy from their home crowd to start the regional quarterfinal with the most momentum possible.
After the Red Hawks (21-17) took a 19-18 lead in the first set, Schubert called a timeout. And after the stoppage, the Coyotes rallied for a 7-3 run to take the first-set victory following an offensive error from Fullerton.
In the second set, the Coyotes won convincingly, 25-18, and took a 2-0 lead over Fullerton with the opportunity to win a second-consecutive state playoff game with a straight-set sweep.
But in the third set, the Red Hawks rallied back for the momentum and took a narrow 20-19 lead over Castaic in the set’s final stages.
The teams traded points back-and-forth but, in the end, the Coyotes came out on top to secure the sweep, 29-27, and put away the Red Hawks with Ameilia Conner securing the game-winning kill.
Schubert said that with Conner’s game-winning kill, she and Leyla Buela, Castaic’s opposite hitter, each played pivotal roles to the team’s win that helped the offense stay ahead over Fullerton.
“If we can run our middles early, it can open up Leyla and Ameilia, and I think we did that early,” Schubert said. “Michele Mountain was great today and it opened up our two hitters with Bella Flores hitting a couple of good ones as well.”
The Coyotes will look to continue their season with another home matchup on Saturday as the team will play host to the Capistrano Valley Christian Eagles of San Juan Capistrano.
The Eagles are coming off a five-set win Thursday over the Lakewood Lancers, who defeated the Coyotes in the Southern Section semifinals in October.
For Schubert, another home matchup will be key for the Coyotes if the team wants to advance but with the quick turnaround, she’ll be looking to have light practice and recover before the next match.
“If they’re feeling good, I’ll let them be,” Schubert said. “It’s their bodies, they know what they want to do with it, so I trust them.”
Saturday’s SoCal regional semifinal bout between the Coyotes and Eagles is scheduled for first serve at 6 p.m. at Castaic High School.
