GVB: Aragon captures Laguna Blanca Tournament

Aragon of San Mateo captured the Laguna Blanca girls volleyball tournament on Saturday with a victory of St. Joseph of Santa Maria.

In the semifinals, Aragon defeated Cate and St. Joseph surprised Laguna Blanca. The Owls had beaten Aragon earlier in the day in pool play 20-25, 25-13, 15-9.

“Aragon was a solid team and we played pretty evenly offensively. It was the unforced defensive errors that made the difference,” said Cate coach Greg Novak.

Cate defeated Bishop Diego, Carpinteria and Buckley in pool play.

Novak lauded the play of senior Maddie Becker, junior Peyton Shelburne and sophomore Delaney Mayfield. Mayfield was named to the all-tournament team.

“It was a good kick start to the season before the kids take off for the outings week,” Novak said. “We are a new team in the sense that new players are stepping in and the returners have new roles and different positions.”

Bishop Diego went 2-1 in pool play, beating Buckley and Carpinteria before falling to Cate. The Cardinals were ousted by St. Joseph in the first round of the playoffs, 25-16.

“Our middles Megan Garcia, Nicole Horner and Evie Coronado played well throughout the day,” coach Jason Donnelly said. “They are all learning how to play middle at the varsity level and gained some great experience today.”

Laguna Blanca’s Phoebe Madsen was named all-tournament. The Owls also beat Malibu and Nordhoff in pool play.