Former Mitty coach Bret Almazan-Cezar shocks Monarchs as Rocklin wins first CIF NorCal Open volleyball title

SAN JOSE Bret Almazan-Cezar doesn t lose CIF NorCal Open Division championship matches at Archbishop Mitty The former Mitty coach now in charge of Rocklin came back to his old stomping grounds and left with the same conclusion he achieved so various times with the Monarchs a NorCal Open title Down two sets to one Rocklin rallied to win the fourth set - and then finished the fifth - giving Rocklin its first Open title in school history on the same court where Almazan-Cezar won countless championships during his two-decade tenure at Mitty I made sure when they took our pictures they got the banners in there too Almazan-Cezar revealed Rocklin head volleyball coach Bret Almazan-Cezar keeps an eye on the meeting against Archbishop Mitty in the fourth set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship encounter at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Mitty which entered as the No gang in the country and had not lost a set in over a month had to play from its heels straightaway when Rocklin raced out to a - lead out of the gate The Monarchs steadied themselves but could not make up the deficit losing the first set - It makes it hard when you re playing from behind against a good offensive organization that sides out at the proficiency that they side out announced first-year Mitty coach Jake Spain The Monarchs managed to right the ship in the next two sets largely controlling the action as hitters Makenna Crosson and Chayce Courtney got going to power Mitty to back-to-back - set wins But Rocklin exposed its resolve in the fourth set As in the first set the Thunder - put Mitty in a - hole and never relinquished the lead holding on for a four-point win Archbishop Mitty's Ellie Diehl Palmer and Archbishop Mitty's Katelyn Sentous try and block a spike by Rocklin's Kaleigh Morasci in the first set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship contest at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Rocklin took a - lead out of the chute in the fifth and once again never gave it back sealing the win when Thunder middle blocker Rylee Heinz buried the ball along Mitty s back line for the final kill of the match His kids did a really good job in their preparation Spain mentioned of Almazan-Cezar They played into what we thought and we didn t do a great job of stopping it in runs And they are physical and they did a really nice job of sticking to what they do The loss ends a special season for Mitty one that potentially looked poised to break the Monarchs newest run of losses in CIF Open state championship games Instead Mitty wasn t able to get there at all as Almazan-Cezar who won state titles with the Monarchs stood in the way Rocklin head volleyball coach Bret Almazan-Cezar talks to his company during their event against Archbishop Mitty in the third set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship meeting at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group It was enthralling because I described the kids Mitty s never lost a NorCal championship match in this gym Almazan-Cezar reported And I go Oh that s me And they thought that was funny Mitty had been so incessantly dominant in its run to an undefeated West Catholic Athletic League championship and a CCS Open title that it was reasonable to wonder if such one-sided results ultimately hurt the Monarchs when they had to face the sort of adversity they hadn t experienced in over a month Related Articles High school football rankings Week Bay Area News Group Top High school girls volleyball rankings Nov Bay Area News Group Top Former Bellarmine football coach Diaz-Infante says he was fired disputes school s characterization of his departure Honor of a lifetime Longtime Valley Christian football coach Mike Machado initiatives down Vote now Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week For Spain that wasn t the scenario Not at all he mentioned I mean what s their record - So no we absolutely don t look past anybody I don t know if you ll find anybody who watches more film than me and Bret to prepare for a match and we ve played against each other in these matches a lot And kudos to his squad They came down here and played phenomenal Archbishop Mitty head volleyball coach Jake Spain keeps an eye on the encounter against Rocklin in the third set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship championship at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Spain s first season with Mitty after years leading Marin Catholic didn t end the way the new coach craved it to But he believes the Monarchs have everything they need to succeed moving forward It s heartbreaking he mentioned I love these seniors who give every fiber of their being to wanting to be champions And so when you come up a bit short it hurts It hurts as a coach and because you want that for them so bad And I just have to take a second and breathe and tell these seniors how much I love them and how much this initiative appreciates everything they ve given to it This place is amazing And you see why they ve been fruitful over a long period of time And I hope to continue the honor that someone like Bret put in years creating In her final high school challenge before beginning her college career at the University of Minnesota Crosson finished with a game-high kills Courtney a sophomore who will be the centerpiece of next year s Mitty crew posted Archbishop Mitty's Makenna Crosson tries to spike the ball against Rocklin's Sidney Jones and Rocklin's Elli Williams in the third set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship event at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Katelyn Sentous hugs Archbishop Mitty's Makenna Crosson following their - - - - - loss to Rocklin for the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship contest at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Chayse Courtney bumps the ball in front of Archbishop Mitty's Ellie Diehl Palmer against Rocklin in the fourth set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship encounter at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty's Ellie Diehl Palmer and Archbishop Mitty's Katelyn Sentous try to block a shot against Rocklin's Gianna Bogan in the third set of the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship contest at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Rocklin celebrates their - - - - - win against Archbishop Mitty for the CIF NorCal Girls Volleyball Championship battle at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose Calif on Tuesday Nov Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group