San Joaquin County girls volleyball CIF State quarterfinal scores, recap

The first round couldn't have gone much better.

All four San Joaquin County girls volleyball teams won their CIF State playoff openers Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Two days later, the road got tougher.

Only two of those four teams survived the quarterfinals Thursday, Nov. 12, keeping their state championship hopes alive.

Here's how each team fared, along with the scores and a full recap.

Division II

No. 1 St. Mary's 3, No. 8 Harbor 2

The lower the division number, the tougher the competition and the less separation there seems to be between seeds. St. Mary's is finding that out the hard way. Two days after being pushed to five sets by No. 16 Cardinal Newman, the top-seeded Rams needed another comeback to defeat No. 8 Harbor, the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion and Central Coast Section Division III title winner. St. Mary's dropped the first and third sets before rallying for a 21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 15-12 victory. According to MaxPreps, the Rams are ranked No. 73 in California, while Harbor sits just seven spots behind at No. 80. For a closer look at how St. Mary's survived, read The Record's full game story.

Division III

No. 3 Ripon 3, No. 6 Bullard 0

It's hard to believe a program could reach four straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship games, win two of them and advance to the state tournament each year without winning a single state playoff match. Yet that was Ripon's reality over the previous four seasons. After the Indians fell in this year's CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship, coach Gregory Soliz encouraged his players to turn that disappointment into something more. "Not a lot of teams can get to this point, and they did. At the same time, they're not happy about it I told them, let it hurt. Embrace the hurt. Then get ready for state." Apparently, his message got through. Ripon secured its second straight state tournament victory with a 25-15, 25-14, 25-15 sweep of Bullard, the County/Metro League runner-up. Setter Alayna Sprinkle recorded 31 assists and three kills, opposite and right-side hitter Jorie Eskes finished with 12 kills, and outside hitter Lilia Tuputala added 11. Outside hitter Ashlyn Malone made her presence felt with 10 kills, 11 digs and seven aces.

Division IV

No. 3 Santa Cruz 3, No. 6 Ripon Christian 1

If there was ever a reminder of how slim the margins can be in the state tournament, Ripon Christian's nearly 100-mile trip to Santa Cruz provided one. The Knights took the opening set 25-23 against the Santa Cruz Coast League and Central Coast Section Division III runner-up, only to drop the next two by identical 25-23 scores before falling 25-18 in the fourth. Santa Cruz entered ranked No. 177 in California by MaxPreps compared with Ripon Christian at No. 337, but the Knights made the matchup much closer than those rankings suggested. Opposite hitter Alyssa Hofman had 17 kills, two blocks, 10 service points, three aces and 16 digs, while setter Rhian Heuvel added 22 assists and 18 digs. Libero Lauren Mouw collected a team-high 20 digs, 16 service points and four aces. Sophomore Bailey Brayton finished with nine kills and 17 digs, outside hitter Annika Jung had eight kills, Sabala recorded four kills and four blocks, Krista Koolhaas added five kills and Brooklynn Postma contributed 17 assists.

No. 10 Bear River 3, No. 2 Escalon 0

The seeds suggested an upset. The teams' resume suggested otherwise. Bear River had already proven itself with a perfect 14-0 Pioneer Valley League record, an appearance in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship and 35 total wins. Against second-seeded Escalon, the No. 10 Bruins backed up that resume with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 sweep. MaxPreps currently ranks Bear River No. 152 in California and Escalon No. 172, another reminder that the gap between the teams wasn't necessarily reflected in their seeds. Senior setter Aniston Hunt finished with 25 assists, six digs, two kills, a block and an ace. Sophomore opposite and setter Avery Bartelink had 10 kills, 15 digs and an ace, while junior outside hitter Emma Strong added 13 kills and six digs.

This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin County girls volleyball CIF State quarterfinal scores, recap