The Archie Williams High girls volleyball team has advanced to the North Coast Section Division III semifinals for the third consecutive year following a 25-11, 25-22, 25-16 victory over fellow MCAL member Terra Linda Saturday night in San Anselmo.

After winning the CIF State D-III championship a year ago, the Peregrine Falcons came out blazing and hungry for more against the visiting Trojans.

“I want to play more,” said Archie middle hitter Katie Griffiths. “It’s my senior season. I don’t want it to be over.”

No. 3-seeded Archie (15-9) will meet University in San Francisco on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Second-seeded University defeated Encinal, 25-12, 25-20, 25-14.

If the Falcons get past University, they will likely meet top-seeded Tam for the NCS title next Saturday.

Archie Williams coach Lisa Hudson believes her team is catching fire at just the right time.

“What I saw last year at state was that everybody’s game elevated,” said Hudson. “It’s really nice to see these girls peaking in their senior year.”

The Falcons’ senior class features 5-foot-9 outside Lindsey Jones, who led all players on Saturday night with 17 kills. Griffiths’ 6-2 frame in the middle provides an intimidating force that accounted for five blocks and four kills.

Senior Reese Fraser, who has been called on to set in the absence of the injured Ellery Ford, had 32 assists and four kills. Junior Rainey Preston had 10 kills and four aces.

The Trojans (17-17) were led by senior Collette Treewater with 10 kills. Josie Campo had 26 digs and four kills.

Sixth-seeded Terra Linda has won a first-round NCS match in all six years Mandy Torres has been coach. The Trojans definitely tested the Peregrine Falcons in the second set, pulling ahead 19-18 on a kill by Olivia Brewster.

With the score knotted at 22-all, the Peregrine Falcons rallied with a kill by Preston, a set dump for a point by Fraser and a slam from the middle by Griffiths.

With momentum on their side, the Peregrine Falcons rolled to an 18-8 lead in the third set behind stellar serving from Jones and Lydia Rivera.

After the Peregrine Falcons’ win on Saturday night, Griffiths harked back to last year’s state championship game when they lost the first set to Buckley.

“We learned about dealing with the pressure,” said Griffiths. “Being able to come back and for the team to have that resilience and know we can do that. Know we can win state and have that under our belt. In the close ones, we know we can do it.”

With six straight NCS appearances and first-round wins, Torres acknowledges that MCAL volleyball brings out the best in the Trojans and players at every league school.

“We have such a competitive league,” said Torres. “We’re always challenged and grateful for that. We’re hoping to make that step forward; We’re playing in a league with three teams that are Top 10 in the state. It’s always competitive and keeps challenging these athletes.”