Lincoln falls shy in state finals

The Lincoln girls made history in becoming the first San Francisco Section team to reach the CIF state volleyball finals. But the championship proved elusive for the Mustangs, who lost the Division III final to Point Loma of San Diego 25-18, 25-18, 27-25 on Saturday afternoon at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

Lincoln (36-9) was led offensively by Lana Radakovic with 14 kills and a .429 attack percentage, Jasmine Yun (seven kills) and Caitlyn Chin (25 assists). Sarah Blumenfeld and libero Gabriela Hernandez led the defense, with 14 and 12 digs respectively.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Lincoln coach Vince Tang said. “It’s definitely something to remember the rest of our lives.”

Point Loma (23-12) was led by Charlie Ekstrom with 17 kills and 13 digs, and Sierra Caffo with 16 kills. Maggie Wolf directed a diverse attack with 38 assists and libero Sophia Altobelli had 9 digs. Open Division: Nicole Liddle had 16 kills and Julia Devine added 10 kills and 11 digs as Mitty (37-6) won its second straight Open Division title with a 25-19, 25-18, 27-15 win over Mater Dei-Santa Ana (37-6). The victory gave the Monarchs their 14th state title.

Kamrin Caoili added nine kills and 11 digs and Makaela Tanaka added 31 assists for the winners. Mater Dei was paced by Natalie Berty with 11 kills. Division 2: May Pertofsky had 16 kills and Zoie Stewart added 11 as the Sierra Canyon Chatsworth (38-7) breezed to a 25-18, 28-26, 25-22 victory over Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton. Cate Desler had 24 kills for the Gators (29-9), who also got 39 assists from Haley Martella. Division 4: Kathryn LeBaron had 18 kills and Jenna Sandall added 13, leading Presentation (20-21) to a 14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 15-13 win over Rancho Bernardo-San Diego. Julia Kallen had 27 kills for Rancho Bernardo.

“I’m really proud of the girls. It’s definitely something to remember the rest of our lives.” Vince Tang, Lincoln coach