Branson and Marin Catholic battle for the MCAL crown

The top two seeds lived up to their billing as Branson and Marin Catholic secured their spots in Friday’s MCAL girls volleyball final thanks to wins in the semifinals on Wednesday night.

The top-seeded Bulls (19-5) defeated No. 4 Tam in three sets, 25-14, 25-15, 25-12. Elena Fisher and Blake Cussen combined for 25 kills and Cussen added 12 digs.

Branson setter Celia Tolmie had a great game with 45 assists, 10 digs and six kills. Libero Lauren Dignan had a team-best 17 digs.

Tam (22-10) was led by Natalia Clifford’s 10 kills and Emmeline Sandgren’s 17 assists. Jade Curtin-Savala had ten digs, while Clifford and Natalie Stanford had five digs each. Tam is expected to land in Division I when the new-look North Coast Section brackets are announced on Sunday.

Marin Catholic (24-5) edged Redwood in the marathon fourth set, securing a 27-25, 15-25, 25-21, 30-28 victory. Both teams had picked up points in the fourth game before MC strung together two points in a row to secure the win.

There’s a good chance Branson, Marin Catholic and Redwood (23-4) will join the top tier of the Open Division when the seedings are announced Sunday. According to MaxPreps.com, teams started this week ranked 1-2-3 in the NCS, in that order