Prep roundup: Leigh wins thrilling five-setter over Branham; Sacred Heart Prep, Mitty capture boys, girls lacrosse titles

SAN JOSE The Leigh boys volleyball crew wasn t sure it could do it again The Longhorns won the Central Coast Section Division I championship in But that was a senior-laden group with double-digit fourth-year performer to lead the way This Leigh gang is much younger But the aftermath was the same when the Longhorns took on Branham in this year s D-I title championship on Saturday at Harker Leigh absorbed an early body blow losing the first set - before winning the next two - and - Branham saved a match point in the fourth to win - But the fifth set was all Leigh The Longhorns took control early and won - ensuring that this Leigh group would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the stellar squad that came before it Leigh s Henry Chen lets out a yell during the CCS Division Volleyball Championship match against Branham Saturday May at the Harker School in San Jose Calif Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group I ve coached a lot of these kids I ve been their facilitator in middle school Leigh coach Jeff Argabright explained I work out there at the feeder school and I coached the middle school unit there when a lot of these guys were there so I ve been with them since they were like We had one starter returning and started four underclassmen and these guys there was never a moment too big It was amazing I m so proud of them I ve only cried like four times and two of them were CCS finals just out of happiness I cannot be more proud Along with several of his current players Argabright once coached Aaron Gordon at Union Middle School As Gordon will have to do in Encounter on Sunday with the Denver Nuggets Leigh faced down a do-or-die final challenge in the fifth set to determine the overall winner But after dropping the fourth set in extra points Leigh wasn t fazed Instead the Longhorns grabbed the bull by the horns starting the set as the aggressor and building a quick - lead Leigh celebrates their - success against Branham in the CCS Division Volleyball Championship at the Harker School in San Jose Calif Saturday May Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group They stretched their early advantage to - then - After dropping a scarce points in a row to allow Branham to cut the deficit to - the Bruins never scored again as Leigh finished the set on a - run Branham gave us everything we can handle and they put it on us event one Argabright announced We could easily have folded Believe it or not Branham literally swept Leigh in the teams previous meeting the second of two matchups in Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt Hamilton Division play So coupled with their previous defeat at home on April Leigh dropped four consecutive sets to Branham entering Saturday s second frame Leigh celebrates their - success against Branham in the CCS Division Volleyball Championship at the Harker School in San Jose Calif Saturday May Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group It didn t matter Instead it was Branham that was searching for several answers as the teams await their bracket placements in the NorCal regional tournament commencing later this week I m beyond proud of these boys Branham coach Heather Cooper mentioned If we looked at the beginning of the season how countless injuries we had illnesses we were dropping like flies And at that point the guys knew that we needed to have specific big shoes to fill and they stepped up and filled those shoes Both teams will have plenty of momentum mistakes and positive coaching points to take into NorCal play But only one took home a second straight CCS trophy Senior Cooper Smith the Longhorns lone returning starter led Leigh with kills Junior Henry Chen who recovered from a compound leg fracture in the offseason added kills in a supplementary role Leigh head coach Jeff Argabright and his group celebrate their - mastery over Branham in the CCS Division Volleyball Championship at the Harker School in San Jose Calif Saturday May Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group Etc Top seed Harbor of Santa Cruz won the CCS Division II boys volleyball final over No Monta Vista taking the championship match - - - Harbor enters the NorCal playoffs with a record of - Monta Vista is - Lacrosse CCS girls Division I No Sacred Heart Prep No St Ignatius For the first time since the Gators are the CCS champions in girls lacrosse after knocking off top seed SI on Saturday Mollie Pepper was the offensive star for SHP scoring five goals She got a few help from teammates Kat Dykes two Olivia Abbott Lily Selcher and Noa Katz Abbott posted a team-leading four assists Skyler Schramm had a pair and Lily Selcher dished one Related Articles William Dryden stars as Archbishop Mitty goes up early holds on to win first CCS title in years over St Francis CIF state swimming Foothill star breaks national record Valley Christian junior has big day Prep roundup Valley Christian rallies to beat No St Francis share WCAL softball title Prep roundup Livermore wins EBAL softball title NCS crowns champions in lacrosse boys volleyball NCS Champs Northgate tops Amador Valley to complete dominant run through section playoffs Goalie Ella Caplice notched five saves in the Gators mastery As CIF lacrosse does not at the moment have a regional or state championship both teams seasons have come to an end SHP finishes with a record of - SI stands at - Division II No Archbishop Mitty No Los Altos A banner Saturday for Mitty athletics got started on the Carlmont High School football field Hours before the Monarchs won the CCS s Open Division boys volleyball title Mitty s girls lacrosse squad claimed its first section title in the brief history of CCS lacrosse Ashton Allard led the way for Mitty with four goals followed by Gabriella Vaccaro with two Kylie O Brien Ardyn Mittleman Ciena Neditch and Ren e Velasco also got on the outcome sheet for the Monarchs Mitty finishes the year with a record of - Los Altos is - CCS boys Division I No Sacred Heart Prep No St Ignatius Stop if you re heard this before SHP beat St Ignatius in a lacrosse title tournament It was much the same for the Gator boys on Friday night as they stayed hot through a dominant tournament run - and - wins and paid it off with a nail-biting win over the Wildcats It is also the SHP boys first CCS lacrosse title since The Gators finish the regular season with a record of - SI finishes at - Division II No Archbishop Mitty No Palo Alto Mitty sure didn t look like the lower seed on Friday night when these teams did battle at Carlmont The Monarchs led - at halftime and were even better in the second half leaving no doubt who the D-II champ would be Ryan Yun scored three goals Elliott Hopkins Austin Yeaman and Tanner Fast each had two while Grant Siripoke and Harrison Zmijewski each got on the outcome sheet as well Mitty finishes the year - Paly is -