Tam falls to No. 7 Aptos in Division IV final

Not every Cinderella story has a happy ending.

In a battle between underdogs in the NorCal Division IV championship, No. 7 Aptos swept fifth- seeded Tam High, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22, to end an unlikely postseason run for a Redtailed Hawks program which had never won an North Coast

Section game until this year.

For Tam’s seniors, Wednesday night’s loss marked the final chapter of their worst-tofirst turnaround. It began with baby steps four years ago, when the Red-tailed Hawks (26-13) won their first MCAL match in five years. This year, they needed help from Terra Linda to force a play-in with Drake to even make the league playoffs.

“We realized at that point that we don’t have to be the underdogs,” said senior Ella Bricker, who finished with seven kills. “That was our turning point. The biggest thing our team did was believe in ourselves. And that was just the start of an amazing postseason.”

In order to reach the D-IV title game, Tam had to take down top- seeded Alameda on the road. But in the finals, the Red-tailed Hawks found themselves in an unfamiliar position as favorites.

There was a reason the Mariners (19-15) were on their own fairy-tale run, of course, and her name was Peyton Dueck. The junior libero/outside hitter provided a steady onslaught of missiles that Tam had trouble returning all evening. The Red-tailed Hawks extended rallies for as long as they could,

with twins Caitlin and Olivia Smith combining for 31 digs, but the Cal Polybound Dueck was simply dominant.

“We were trying to focus on not giving it to (Dueck) but she’s really good at keeping herself in the play,” said junior setter Kayli Morris, who dished out 12 assists and had six kills.

“(Dueck) is the best allaround player we’ve faced this whole state run,” Tam coach Ray Karter said.

Karter certainly didn’t imagine himself muttering those words before this season started.

“It’s hard right in the moment to accept the loss,” Karter said. “But we didn’t expect to make state. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win an NCS game. This program has never won an NCS game in any records

I could find anywhere going all the way back. So when we won the second NCS game and qualified for state, it was already a successful season.”

Bricker and her fellow seniors were emotional after the defeat, but confident that the culture they’ve created will remain in place long after their departure.

“I’m just so proud of how far we’ve come,” Bricker said. “This isn’t the end of the road for Tam.”