Sutter falls to West Valley in championship

RED BLUFF — After the Huskies' tears had dried and West Valley accepted its second straight title, Ann Reynolds scoured the gym to find her players and give them one last hug.

The Sutter High volleyball coach grabbed a seat, sighed, then measured out an inch with her thumb and index finger.

"In the fourth game, we were that close," she said.

If it wasn't already a rivalry, a 27-25 section championship-deciding game may sure be the birth. Remember that Sutter run of four straight from 2005-2008, when the Huskies would show up at Red Bluff High and win the Northern Section Division IV Championship like it was a formality?

Well, here is top-seeded West Valley, stifling Sutter's run again with a 25-17, 25-20, 17-25, 27-25 win on Saturday. It's now back-to-back clinchers for the Eagles against the Huskies, who topped No. 2 Sutter in three last year to demolish a possible five-peat.

They're working on a dynasty of their own, while Sutter will reload and hope for another shot in November 2011. Both Reynolds and Eagles coach Carla Davis, who have a mutual respect dating back decades, are thinking Round 3.

"One of these days, I'm going to get her," Reynolds said.

And as she left, stepping out into the rain, Reynolds exchanged a quick good-bye embrace with Davis and heard her counterpart say the following as she walked out the door:

"See you next year."

If it indeed does happen, the returning Huskies will definitely look at Saturday's slow start as Exhibit A of what to avoid when playing the Eagles. Against a team like West Valley, who hits harder, more accurately and passes better than anything they face in the Butte View League, going down two games to none is practically a death knell.

The Eagles strung together a 6-1 run in the opening game to put their lead at an untouchable seven points — a result of consistently dumping in hard hits and finesse lobs between the front and back rows.

In the second game, they took a Sutter seven-point lead and eviscerated it. Up 16-9 after a nice trio of serves by Shaila Gidel, West Valley called a timeout, reemerged with vigor and flipped a deficit into a five-point victory.

"I personally was really, really proud of coming back from that deficit," Davis said.

Through league play and the opening rounds of the playoffs, the break between the second and third game for Sutter is a time to relax and watch the school's student section perform cheers. This time, it was all business, with Reynolds shedding her usual silent moniker and finding her inner inspirational speaker.

"I told them you got to get the ball tighter to the setter and start attacking from the outside, and we did, we did that," she said. "I can't be disappointed when they do exactly what I tell them to do, and they did a great job with adjusting and fighting back."

The third game was vintage Sutter, the type of play you'd expect from a team which is riding a 60-plus game win streak in league play. Brenna McDonald and Katie Olson pummeled sets from Sam Foster, the defense improved and the Huskies were back to attacking instead of scrambling.

Olson finished with 12 kills and 10 digs, McDonald had 11 kills and 19 digs, Angela DeHaan tallied nine and Gidel added eight.

Then came the deciding game that had it all: long rallies, back-to-back serving mistakes to at both 24 and 25 points and plenty of tenseness to make two veteran coaches squirm. Reynolds, who usually lounges back and keeps stats was positioned like a baseball catcher, tapping her scorebook on the ground and yelling out "lets go ... side out." Davis was simply tapped out of motivating tools.

"It was really tense and I was pretty much out of options of what to say, she said. "I thought I'd said it all and done it all.

"When we each traded missed serves I was like 'oh that's crazy.'"

But Davis and her 10-girl roster can look back fondly at a game where they lost a 22-17 lead and emerged with title. Sutter's story is obviously less joyous, with the Huskies now hoping for an upset in the first round of the CIF State Tournament.

Still, as Reynolds gave each of her players that final hug, she told each of them she was proud.

"I told them I was really proud of them and that I wish I could of given it to them, she said. "But that's what sports is, you go in with that risk and not everybody is going to be the winner.

"You go in and it's a jump ball, it's a 50/50 shot and all you can do is your best and I think we did that tonight, as did West Valley."