‘Exhilarating’: Archbishop Mitty wins first CIF NorCal title since 2013, earns trip to brand-new state championship

SAN JOSE Archbishop Mitty was the first school to win the CIF NorCal Division I championship doing so when the regional tournament was inaugurated in Twelve years later the Monarchs are now also the first-ever NorCal gang to reach the state championship after beating Clovis East - for the D-I crown at home in San Jose Mitty knew it had a special group when the season began and the CIF state title match introduced for the first time in was the north star of a campaign with so much promise The Monarchs never got derailed finishing the job with an eye-popping record of - And now they ll have the chance to do something no California boys high school volleyball squad has ever done before Archbishop Mitty boys volleyball organization celebrates their win in the NorCal Division I championship challenge against Clovis East at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group It was exhilarating declared Mitty assistant coach Gregg Gallegos who took the reins in March when head coach Lacey Gera temporarily stepped down to go on maternity leave Somewhat surprising although perhaps not if you ve been paying close attention it took Mitty quite a bit of time and chosen serious jeopardy to get going on Saturday Clovis East despite enduring a brutal passage schedule that included an eight-hour-plus bus ride back to Clovis on Friday night came out with a surge in the early going taking an - lead Mitty closed the gap and took a - lead but lost the set - It got worse in the second set Clovis East perhaps rejuvenated by a - run to end the first set took a - lead to begin the second frame At that point the Monarchs were running out of time to turn it on Archbishop Mitty's E J Tejano dives the the ball against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship encounter in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group I can t say it verbatim Gallegos commented of his speech after calling a timeout at the pivotal moment It was just a mindset thing and it s just reminding them that you are better than them you are better than the person across from you And like you need to start believing that Mitty flipped the switch at once thereafter and once they did it stuck The Monarchs tied the set at - and won going away - Around the same time star hitter William Dryden invariably an excellent member raised his level a sparse notches and became only unstoppable With Dryden leading the way Mitty surged to the finish line winning the final two sets - and - Gallegos had awoken the sleeping giant There was nothing Clovis East could do Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement Archbishop Mitty's E J Tejano and Archbishop Mitty's Antony Niu celebrate their win in the NorCal Division I championship match against Clovis East at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group We definitely got chosen more resource Dryden noted We realized that what we needed to do was improve defensively Once we were able to do that we were able to get the ball to more people spread out the offense and I knew it was time to take over That s what we needed in this match The Monarchs new standard was stellar enough that Clovis East was essentially disenfranchised No matter what they did as long as Mitty remained focused they were not going to win another set Mitty is a great group They re very competitive Timberwolves coach Niko Orro revealed Coming into the match I was optimistic but also unsure about what the outcome would be We were having these ups and downs in our challenge Mitty played a great encounter and we hung in there with them for a little bit But they re a tough squad They re very physical and hard to beat The win was bittersweet validation for Gera who had to watch from the bleachers as the group she built romped through the NorCal playoffs Mitty dropped just one set in the Division I tournament punctuating a postseason run that also included the Monarchs first CCS championship in a dozen years Archbishop Mitty boys volleyball coach Lacey Gera on maternity leave hugs interim coach Gregg Gallegos after beating Clovis East to win the NorCal Division I championship contest in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group I knew going into this season even though I was pregnant this company was going to be really special and this season was going to be pretty spectacular Gera explained Which it has been Winning WCAL winning CCS winning every tournament that we ve been in and now winning NorCal I m really proud and honored to be able to have established this initiative but also have the help of my staff It s emotional to be able to have someone step in like Greg who is devoted passionate a great coach a great person to be here and take over I have that trust in the staff that they re gonna do a really good job which obviously they have I m just really happy Even though I m just a cheerleader now I m the biggest fan by far Archbishop Mitty boys volleyball interim coach Gregg Gallegos talks to his company during a break against Clovis East in the fourth set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship challenge in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Gera plans to make the trip to Fresno for the state title competition which will be Dryden s final match with the Monarchs His volleyball career isn t over he ll head to UC Santa Barbara to join the Gauchos in time for the next school year But it will be his last time in Mitty black and gold and he plans to make it count It s very special Dryden disclosed Especially the fact that it s my senior year I ve been on this organization for three years building getting better every year Now that it s my senior year we conclusively get the chance to do that Even though there s a lot of people saying we can t beat a SoCal unit there s no reason that we can t If we play the way we played in current times we improve on our defense and let them make the errors we should be able to beat any band Archbishop Mitty's William Dryden spikes the ball against Clovis East in the second set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship championship in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Dryden finished the match with kills and a hitting efficiency mark of He added three system aces for good measure Mitty will face Southern California s top seed and the No organization in the nation Mira Costa of Huntington Beach in the state championship match at p m on Saturday at Fresno City College Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement celebrates with the NorCal Division I championship volleyball plaque following their win over Clovis East at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty boys volleyball club celebrates their win in the NorCal Division I championship battle against Clovis East at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's William Dryden spikes the ball against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship championship in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement tries to save a ball against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship tournament in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement spikes the ball against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship tournament in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement Archbishop Mitty's E J Tejano and Archbishop Mitty's Antony Niu celebrate their win in the NorCal Division I championship match against Clovis East at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Ethan Li and Archbishop Mitty's Antony Niu try and block a shot against Clovis East's Michael Yang in the third set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship event in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Andy Guo bumps the ball against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship contest in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement blocks a shot against Clovis East's Logan Vang in the third set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship event in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Ryan Barnes fights for the ball against Clovis East's Nicolaas Linkes in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship challenge in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Antony Niu and Archbishop Mitty's Oscar Klement try and block a shot against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship match in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's E J Tejano celebrates a point against Clovis East in the first set at Archbishop Mitty during their NorCal Division I championship event in San Jose Calif on Saturday May Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group