GALT >> The Soquel High’s girls volleyball team saw its best postseason in three years come to a close in the Central Valley. The No. 8 seed Knights lost to No. 1 Liberty Ranch 25-18, 25-16, 25-20 in the CIF NorCal Regional Division IV quarterfinals on Thursday night.

“I’m so amazed by our team,” senior Claire Peterson said. “I’m proud of the team. To get so far in the playoffs is amazing. We worked for it. I saw a new fire out of the girls these recent games as we faced some new competition.”

Peterson led Soquel (18-16 overall) against the Hawks with 12 kills and seven digs. Lily Juarez-Sapone dished off 15 assists and had eight digs. Libero Gianna Audisio sparkled against big-hitting Liberty Ranch with 11 digs.

The Hawks (35-5) featured a 6-foot-6 middle in Rachel Smith and powerful outside hitters in Paityn Snow and Haley Smith.

“We played really well,” coach Jake Lee said. “When their 6-foot-6 middle is up front, they would go on runs. When she was in the back row, we had our runs. Their runs lasted longer than ours.”

In Lee’s advanced offense, Juarez-Sapone and fellow setter Mia Riddle moved Peterson around to hit from different places and utilized middles Katy Eze and Mary Henderson for diversification. Jillian Winterburn, Sadie Holden, Liv Barton, Ava Giorgianni and Zoe Adams provided additional options to work around the Hawks’ big block.

After a rough start, Soquel was competitive the rest of the night. The cumulative point total over the last two-and-a-half sets was just 54-47 in favor of the Hawks. Key to Soquel’s response was superb defense, primarily from libero Audisio and Peterson, when she rotated to center back. It wasn’t quite enough to upset the Hawks but it was another hard-working gritty performance.

“It’s been really fun,” Juarez-Sapone said. “We played our best the last few weeks. The energy has been great. A lot of what we tried worked well the last few games. I’m really proud of how far we came. It was a great season.”

In the CCS playoffs, Soquel defeated Notre Dame of San Jose and Capuchino to advance to the championship match, where it lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral. In NorCals, Soquel beat No. 9 Vintage in the first round before the loss to Liberty Ranch.

“The Capuchino game was perhaps our best game of the year,” Lee said. “Claire was great. And on defense, we had Gianna and Gemma Reyes, a sophomore DS (defensive specialist), and they both played great defense.”

Peterson cited the team’s discipline and grit in the five-set victory over Capuchino. A loss at that point would have likely ended the season. Instead, the Knights rolled on.

The result was the best playoff run since the Ciara Cantlen-led Knights won the CCS Division IV title in 2021 and advanced to the third round of the NorCal playoffs.

This squad dealt with ups and downs all season, including seeing star Jessie Dueck commit to UCLA beach bolleyball and thus not come back to the indoor game. They finished second in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League regular season, reached the semifinals of the SCCAL Tournament and then posted an impressive CCS and NorCal run.

After the contest ended, there were hugs and tears, as a special season had ended on the upswing. Smiles resurfaced as the players posed for pictures and soon headed back to the team bus.

“It’s been a team effort,” Lee said. “These girls fight hard. They love each other very much.”