East Nicolaus run ends at Marin Academy

Nov. 13—In search of its first trip to the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California state regional Division IV final, sixth-seeded East Nicolaus High girls volleyball came up short Saturday, falling to No. 2 seeded Marin Academy in four sets (21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 23-25) in San Rafael.

East Nicolaus finished the season 30-3 in which it won its third straight Northern Section Division V championship during the run.

Spartans head coach Donald Takeuchi said it was an eventful season all the way up through the end.

"We fought hard till the end," Takeuchi said. "The support has been amazing. The stands for these games on the road have been packed with not only parents but school staff, students and multiple community members. It has been amazing."

Jadyn Hoffman finished off her third varsity season with a team-high 28 kills and 17 digs, running her career kills total to 1,160 with one season to go. Her classmate, Addy Tagala, had 47 assists at Marin Academy to finish her third year with 1,863 career assists.

Senior Tiare Faupula, Hoffman's counterpart on the outside, had 21 kills and 13 digs to close out her prep career. Madison Clair finished her last match at East Nicolaus with three solo blocks against Marin Academy, a team that is 2-0 against East Nicolaus in the MaxPreps era that dates back to 2005.

Marin Academy, a team out of the Bay Counties — West League, moves into the D-IV NorCal regional final to take on Kingsburg. The winner goes to the California state final set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, located in northern Orange County about three miles north of Santa Ana.