SANTA CRUZ >> Harbor High’s girls volleyball team moved closer in its bid to defend its Central Coast Section Division lV championship by defeating No. 4 Scotts Valley 25-12, 19-25, 25-17, 25-14 in the semifinals on Thursday night.

The top-seeded Pirates (23-9 overall) face No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep (20-14) of Atherton for the title on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Gunn High.

The Gators, the runner-up in the West Bay Athletic League’s Foothill Division, defeated Notre Dame of Belmont 3-0, in the other semifinal on Thursday night.

With its win, Harbor, the repeat Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion, advanced to a section final for the third straight season.

Scotts Valley, which took third in the SCCAL this season, reached the semifinals for the first time.

It was the fourth meeting between the league foes, all won by the Pirates. Harbor’s senior-laden squad proved to be too much for the up-and-coming Falcons (22-11), who also finished with their best record in school history.

“It’s hard to beat a team four times in a season so we’re just happy to get through this,” said Matt Schutz, the Pirates’ head coach.

Harbor started strong, and took the first set in dominating fashion against the Falcons, who have just one senior.

“We came out fast in the first set, which was good,” said Maren O’Farrell, a senior outside hitter for the Pirates.

The Falcons, who took Harbor to five sets earlier this season, roared back in the second set behind strong play from senior outside hitter Ava Morrison and evened the match at 1-1.

Scotts Valley first year Head Coach Mikayla Fish, was pleased with her team’s performance.

“For us, staying competitive and taking a set off of them (Harbor), that’s the obvious highlight tonight,” she said.Tied at 7-7 in a wide open third set, Harbor won seven straight points behind the serving of senior Isla Johnson. After that, the Pirates didn’t look back. They won sets Nos. 3 and 4 in convincing form.

“I’m really proud of ourselves”, said Johnson, flanked by teammates O’Farrell and fellow senior Sabine Kemos. “This is just another big step to getting to our goal which is winning CCS.”

Added Kemos, “We’re officially state (playoffs) bound because we’re going to the CCS finals so that’s really exciting.”

O’Farrell led the Pirates with 17 kills. Johnson had 11 kills, and Kemos had 10.

“Now that we’re seniors and it’s coming close to the end of the season, we’re just trying to leave everything out on the court, have no regrets,” Johnson said. “It’s such a big moment, we’re trying to cherish it as long as possible.”

Morrison closed out her Scotts Valley career with 13 kills. Teammate Aila Papadopoulos made eight kills.

While the Pirates move on to the championship match, Scotts Valley’s record-setting season comes to a close. The Falcons will graduate Morrison, but return a talented group, including juniors Hayden Smith, Papadopoulos and Makayla McDonnell.

Soquel 3, Capuchino 2

SOQUEL >> Senior Claire Petersen had 25 kills, four aces, and 24 digs, and the No. 3 Knights rallied past the No. 10 Mustangs 25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10 in the CCS D-III semifinals on Thursday night.

“Honestly, this was a really great team win,” Knights coach Jake Lee said. “Capuchino is a tough team to play. They’re incredibly scrappy, move the ball well and, overall, make you really earn every point. The Soquel players kept rallying behind the idea that ‘we’re a scrappy team too, we’re a good defensive team, we can win these long rallies,’ and they did.

“The defensive was amazing on both sides until the very end. I think game point in the fifth set went over a minute back and forth and that wasn’t even the longest rally of the game.”

In the fourth set, Soquel switched from its regular 6-2 lineup (two setters) to a 5-1 lineup with just our senior setter and captain Lily Juarez-Sapone set all the way around (back row and front row). The Knights stuck with the 5-1 in the fifth set.

Juarez-Sapone, a senior, finished with 45 assists and 12 digs.

Soquel (17-13), the SCCAL runner-up, faces No. 1 Sacred Heart Cathedral (16-12) of San Francisco, playing in its third section final in as many seasons, for the title at Gunn High on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The Knights received big contributions from other seniors, too. Jillian Winterburn had 15 kills. Gianna Audisio had 33 digs and two aces, and Sadie Holden had eight kills and 26 digs

Sophomore Katy Eze had seven kills and two blocks for the Knights. Classmate Gemma Reyes had 16 digs, and sophomore Mia Riddle had 13 assists.

“Making the finals and NorCal means everything,” Lee said. “We have a lot of seniors on our team, seven of our 13 players. For them to be able to make a run in their last year like this is special they’ve all worked so hard.

“And for the younger girls, our five sophomores and one junior, it’s a great experience. They earn a longer season to work on their game. They also get to see the next level of competition early so they won’t be surprised in the years to come when they’re leading the team. They’ll be ready for it.”

The Mustangs, the runner-up in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division, ends its season at 20-10.

SHC 3, Santa Cruz 0

SAN FRANCISCO >> The top-seeded Fightin’ Irish, the fourh-place finisher in the West Catholic Athletic League, swept the No. 4 Cardinals 25-20, 25-15, 25-12 in the CCS D-III semifinals on Thursday night.

First-year Cardinals head coach Caroline Nicodemus said it was an incredible milestone for her team to reach the semifinals.

“We had a very young team, with half of our players being freshman and sophomores,” she said. “Santa Cruz lost 11 seniors last year, and it was not expected for us to have such a strong first season as a new program. Our seniors Inde Snell, Kelaiah Wynn, and Shelby Leonardich were all incredible leaders throughout the season and were pivotal in guiding such a young team through the ups and downs of a varsity season. I am so astounded by the dedication that this entire squad showed and was so grateful for all of their willingness to trust in myself as a new coach and learn together.”

The Cardinals, who tied for fourth place in the SCCAL, see their season end at 17-11.

Sentinel Sports Editor Jim Seimas contributed to this report.