SCOTTS VALLEY >> Outside hitters Ava Morrison and Hayden Smith combined for 38 kills, and the No. 4 seed Scotts Valley High girls volleyball team beat No. 5 Monte Vista Christian 25-14, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 in the Central Coast Section Division IV quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

Morrison, the Falcons’ lone senior, had 17 kills, eight digs, and an ace, and Smith, a 6-foot junior, had 21 kills and 13 digs.

“They are the girls that get the job done,”said first-year Falcons coach Mikayla Fish, of her two co-captains. “They know how to not get in their heads and turn it around when they need to turn it around. They know how to execute when they need to execute. And they just did that again tonight for us. They’re kinda our two pillars. Truly. Our two outsides, they’re the pillars on our team.”

With their win, the Falcons (20-9 overall) will take on league foe and defending section champion Harbor (20-9) in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. It’ll be the teams’ fourth meeting this season, and the Falcons’ first time in the semis.

“This is really special,” Smith said. “This is the furthest that the girls volleyball team has ever made in CCS, so this is so special, and I’m so happy to have made it with this team. I love all the players on it and I’m really excited for us.”

The top-seeded Pirates were pushed to five sets in their first meeting against Scotts Valley on Sept. 24, but earned sweeps in their two other contests.

Given the high number of players the Falcons will return next season, it’s an important match for them on multiple fronts.

“It’s the foundation that’s going to be the future of Scotts Valley,” Morrison said.

Junior opposite Rylee Giesen had nine kills and five aces for the Falcons, the third-place finisher in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League. Junior middle blocker Makayla McDonnell had two kills, six blocks, and six digs.

Senior outside hitter Elizabeth McCuistion had eight kills for the Mustangs (21-10), the third-place finisher in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division.

“There’s a special place in my heart for this team,” said Brittney Long, the Mustangs’ first-year head coach. “We were the underdog all season. No one thought we’d be that good. But they showed their heart. They’re a fantastic team.”

The teams split their previous two meetings this season. Morrison missed the Falcons’ 3-2 loss to the Mustangs on Sept. 4, and helped the Scotts Valley earn a 2-1 win on Oct. 5.

Morrison said the Falcons did well on serve receive, executing their attacks, and communicating with each other.

“I think coming together really helped at the end,” she said. “We worked really well together tonight. It was a really good energy in the air and that helped.”

Scotts Valley wasn’t in peak form in the first set. It built multiple four-point leads, but let the Mustangs hang around with their hitting errors. Morrison and Smith heated up, and the Falcons turned a 9-all first set into a blowout.

The Mustangs looked like a completely different team in the second set. The teams were deadlocked at 6-all, but the Mustangs pulled away behind attacks from McCuistion and junior outside hitter Ella Batt, and the left-handed serves from senior outside Maia Kilinski. Smith single-handedly got the Falcons back into contention with three kills late, but MVC pulled out their lone set win, 25-21.

“There were a lot of jitters and nerves that first set, in the beginning, but especially that second set, we got rattled,” Fish said. “But we finally got settled in and started playing like we know how to play.”

The third set featured eight ties. MVC’s Kilinski recorded a block to knot the score at 22-all, but the Mustangs were called for a double hit, Giesen went through the Mustangs’ front line for a kill, and Smith slammed down the winner to clinch the set for a 2-1 lead.

McCuistion recorded one of the shots of the season in the final set. She prevented and ace with her diving pancake save and it cleared the net and landed untouched for an unexpected kill. She got to her knees, extended her arms out, and soaked up her teammates’ and the fans’ adulation.

Kilinski and McCuistion helped the Mustangs rally and knot the score at 16-all, but Smith recorded four kills down the stretch, including the match winner.

Harbor 3, Menlo 2

SANTA CRUZ — Senior outside hitter Isla Johnson had 22 kills, 12 digs, and three blocks, and the No. 1 Pirates (20-9) rallied for a 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-10, 15-7 win over No. 9 Menlo (15-15) to open their CCS D-IV title defense in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Senior middle blocker Sabine Kemos had nine kills and five blocks for the Pirates, the repeat SCCAL regular season and tournament champions. Senior outside hitter Maren O’Farrell had six kills, five aces, and seven digs, and senior opposite Holly Rejfir had five kills.

Menlo, the third-place finisher in the West Bay Athletic League’s Foothill Division, sees its season end with a 15-15 record.

Harbor hosts Scotts Valley in Thursday’s semifinals at 7 p.m.

Soquel 3, Notre Dame-SJ 1

SOQUEL — Senior outside hitter Claire Petersen had 16 kills, eight digs and two blocks, and the No. 3 Knights beat No. 11 Notre Dame of San Jose 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 27-25 in the CCS D-III quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Junior right side Zoe Adams had nine kills and six digs for the Knights (16-13), the SCCAL runner-up. Senior outside hitter/opposite Jillian Winterburn had nine kills and two digs, and senior setter Lily Juarez-Sapone had 18 assists and eight digs.

“Zoe Adams had her best game of the season offensively,” Knights coach Jake Lee said. “Claire Petersen also played great.”

Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Liv Barton made six kills for Soquel. Senior outside hitter Sadie Holden served five aces and made 25 digs, and senior libero Gianna Audisio made 15 digs.

Senior Jones Quinlan made 26 kills for the Regents (17-13). Senior teammate Crooks Dylan made 17 kills. They had combined for 110 attempts.

Lee praised Winterburn and Mary Henderson for their defensive presence at the net. “Jillian and Mary’s blocks were the best they’ve been all season and really slowed down Notre Dame’s two big outsides,” he said.

Soquel hosts No. 10 Capuchino (20-9) of San Bruno, the runner-up in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division, in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Santa Cruz 3, Pioneer 0

SANTA CRUZ — The No. 4 Cardinals (17-10) earned a 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 sweep of No. 12 Pioneer (21-7) in the CCS D-III quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“Senior Inde Snell was a rockstar in implementing our game plan of attacking deep and line against their defense,” said Caroline Nicodemus, the first-year Cardinals coach. “Natalie Monroe and Haisley Flannagan were steady forces on the outside, and senior Kelaiah Wynn was a monster offensively in the middle. As always, our defense was impenetrable due to senior Shelby Leonardich.”

Santa Cruz plays at No. 1 Sacred Heart Cathedral (14-12), a 2023 D-III finalist, in San Francisco in Thursday’s semifinals at 7 p.m.

University Prep 3, St. Francis 0

SAN JOSE — Junior outside Peyton Orradre had seven kills and seven digs, but the No 5 Sharks saw their season come to a close in a 25-16, 25-13, 25-16 loss to the No. 4 Golden Eagles (15-12) in the CCS D-V quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Senior middle blocker Delaney Fowler made six kills for the Sharks (15-11). Junior setter Georgia Otzman had eight assists and three kills, and junior setter Julie Lopez had nine assists, three aces, one block, and eight digs.

“Even though we lost, the girls played a great game,” Sharks coach Sabrina Bracken said. “It was amazing to see them come together to play as a team the last bit of the season. The team had the same roster last year with only three wins and turned it around this year to a 15-win season. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”