Genesis Branner is very busy, as many 21-year-olds are.

She’s got schoolwork to keep up with as she completes a program that will allow her to become a medical assistant. She has a job as a manager at a retail store. You know, normal 21-year-old things.

Oh, and she’s the coach of a Skyline girls volleyball team that just won its fifth consecutive Oakland Athletic League championship.

Not so normal.

“People always question me and ask, ‘How old are you?’” Branner said, adding, “some of the kids, especially the freshmen that didn’t know me, thought I was their age.”

While Branner graduated from Skyline in 2020, she left having won the first of what would eventually be five straight titles for the school.

The Titans alum briefly played at State University of New York Brockport, but sustained an injury and decided to move back home to Oakland.

Once she was back in the familiar Oakland Hills, it wasn’t long before Branner’s former coach, Erica Hansen, called the onetime middle-blocker and asked if she was interested in the job.

“I fell in love with it,” said Branner, who still looks like she could get a few kills or blocks.

Branner noted that because she is so close in age with many of her players, and even played with the older siblings of at least one Titan, she said that her relationship with her players is more akin to “a big sister or an auntie.”

That style has worked, and now the Titans are headed to the section playoffs.

“I finished my high school career with gold around my neck, and I’m here to finish this year that way, too,” Branner said.

— Joseph Dycus

Castro Valley’s second WACC Foothill Division title quiets doubters

Castro Valley graduated a talented senior class that led the Trojans to a league title last season. Naturally, some doubt creeped around the program as to whether it could compete for the league crown again.

Those naysayers have nothing more to say.

With Castro Valley’s 3-1 win over Berkeley on Thursday night, the Trojans captured the West Alameda Country Conference Foothill Division title for the second consecutive season — the first time Castro Valley has won back-to-back league titles since 1993-94.

Even more impressive, this year’s team was mostly made up of underclassmen and will only graduate four seniors at the conclusion of the season.

“When we lost that talent, a lot of people wondered if we were going to be able to do it again,” coach Maggie Del Grande said. “Even though we weren’t underdogs because we did win last year, it almost felt like we were starting over, so it just meant a lot. I think it was really fun to see the look on the freshmen’s faces when they realized that their first year in high school, they got to be league champions.”

Junior Tessa Smith has been a standout player for the Trojans all season. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter has 427 kills this fall. In Thursday’s win over Berkeley, she had 31 kills, four aces, four blocks and eight digs.

— Nathan Canilao

Liberty stays hungry

Liberty’s boys water polo team has quietly had one of its best seasons in school history.

After beating Freedom on Tuesday, the Lions captured the Bay Valley Athletic League regular season crown and won 20 games for the first time since 2019.

Liberty coach Rosy Ayers credits the team’s grittiness for its success.

“I think just the way they kept their motivation and their grit through their season is what I’m most proud of,” Ayers said. “Winning is actually harder than losing, because losing just smacks you in the face.”

Liberty has played a tough schedule. It has wins over Marin Academy, Foothill and California. The Brentwood school jumped to No. 9 this week in the Bay Area News Group boys water polo rankings.

Though it is unlikely that the Lions get a high seed in the section playoffs because they play a weaker league schedule, Ayers and the team are embracing the underdog mentality.

— Nathan Canilao