FREMONT – A convincing 3-0 College of San Mateo victory at Ohlone College combined with a stunning 3-0 defeat of Cabrillo College at Hartnell College on Friday night resulted in an outright Coast Conference North Division championship for the Bulldogs, the first in the history of the program and for head coach Katie Goldhahn.
CSM and Cabrillo appeared to be on a collision course towards a North Division championship match in their regular-season finale next Tuesday (Nov. 15) at 6:30 p.m. but the Seahawks couldn't hold up their end of the deal. Cabrillo had won 14 straight Coast Conference titles.
The Bulldogs, now 9-0 in Coast Conference play, take a two-match lead over Cabrillo (7-2) with plenty still on the line for both teams in that contest.
CSM, ranked No. 3 in the most-recent CCCWVCA State Poll, will look to close out the schedule by winning 15 straight matches and secure a top-3 seed for the upcoming Northern California Regional Playoffs. A win over Cabrillo, currently ranked No. 11 in the Northern California RPI, would help that cause.
Cabrillo (12-9) is ranked No. 16 in this week's state poll and hasn't lost a Coast Conference match at home since 2007.
In Friday's 25-11, 25-14, 25-14 win at Ohlone, Naomie Cremoux led the Bulldogs with 19 kills. Valerie Bruk added 10 kills while Ashley Chacon totaled 12 digs. Angelina Estrada posted 43 assists to pace the offense.
Goldhahn helped launch the CSM women's volleyball program that began play in 2016. Last year, the Bulldogs finished one match back of Cabrillo in the North Division standings.
