By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Getting down 13-8 in the first game wasn't a big deal to the players at Santa Fe Christian-Solana Beach.
"We're kind of the comeback bunch," said Santa Fe Christian coach Gail Malone said noting her team had fought back from seven 1-0- and 2-1-game deficits to victory.
It didn't seem to bother them either that there were 1,500 screaming hometown Harker-San Jose jammed into San Jose State's Events Center.
"In our league, we've played in a lot of packed loud gyms," Malone said.
"I liked it," said 6-foot-2 senior opposite senior Faith Steinwedell laughing with teammates. "It kind of gave us incentive to shut them up."
Santa Fe (32-4) didn't exactly shut up or shut down Harker and its all-everything Santa Clara University-bound hitter Tanya Schmidt, but they did shut out the hometown team, winning the CIF California State Division IV championship with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 victory.
While Harker (36-6) relied heavily on Schmidt (15 kills), the San Diego Section champions attacked from all angles, as four players had between six and nine kills, led by 5-10 outside hitter Kristin Miller.
Interestingly, Schmidt was awarded the MVP of the match by a CIF committee, even though her team was swept.
"Yes, that surprised me but that's probably because (Santa Fe) has so many different weapons," Harker coach Theresa Smith said. "Then again I'd give Tanya MVP any day of the week."
Santa Fe junior setter Taylor Johnson (26 assists) also did a superb job getting the ball to 6-3 junior Victoria Adelhelm (already committed to Pepperdine), 6-0 senior hitter Chelsea Oemeke and Steinwedell, who had seven, six and six kills, respectively.
As good as Taylor was, Malone said it was the team's passing that keyed the victory.
"It really allowed Taylor to spread the ball around," she said. "I thought we also served great."
And don't forget blocking.
Many of Schmidt's kills came from the back row, especially in the first game when she recorded eight of her points. Santa Fe held Schmidt to just seven kills over the next two games.
"I feel like we embraced the moment and enjoyed every minute," Schmidt said. "I'm proud of our school and fans and my team. We definitely won as a team this year and today we lost as a team."
Smith said Santa Fe's quick and varied attack was the difference.
"I don't think we played our best match but their quick attacks were hard to defend," Smith said. "They come at you from a lot of angles, their front row is formidable, put up big blocks and take a lot of good swings."
Harker got a combined 12 kills from Kristina Bither, Gwynne Davis and Candace Silva-Martin. Bither added a game-high 11 digs.
Santa Fe just had too much versatility and experience.
It was the Eagles third state title but first in D- IV. They won D-V championships in 2001 and 2005 and this was their sixth state finals in seven years.
Malone, in just her second year at Santa Fe, said her team's composure paved the way to strong all-around play. The Eagles never tensed up.
"Every time I looked into the girls' eyes I saw a real calm, a real confidence," she said. "It's a pleasure to coach these girls."
NOTES: All-tournament team members included Santa Fe Christian's Victoria Adelhelm, Miller and Steinwedell, along with Harker's Davis. ... The Sportsmanship awards went to Amy Alkazin (Santa Fe) and Christine Emery (Harker). ... This was the 11th straight year a Southern California team won D-IV. During that time, Northern California has won just two games.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
