Colusa, East Nic lead divisions

Jeff Larson, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·3 min read

Oct. 16—The Colusa High girls volleyball team will finally get a chance to defend its latest Northern Section championship — two years later.

The RedHawks appear destined to wrap up the Sacramento Valley League title and finish no lower than two in the upcoming Northern Section Division V playoffs.

As it stands now, Colusa (28-4) is tied for the top-seed in the division with University Prep (33-5). The Panthers play in the Northern League.

In 2019, Colusa beat Etna for the D-V title, but moved up to D-IV for the 2021 playoffs. There were no 2020 playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If Colusa and U-Prep meet in the finals this year, set for Nov. 6, it will be the second time this calendar year that the two will square off. The Panthers won in straight sets back on April 22 during the spring COVID-modified season.

Colusa closes out the regular season at home against Pierce Tuesday and at Durham Thursday.

The volleyball postseason features a different amount of teams in each division due to opt-outs and teams not qualifying. According to the section website, a team needs to have a .500 or better record in overall, league or division finish to qualify for the postseason.

Teams that qualify can also choose not to participate, so long as they opt-out by Oct. 20, the section stated.

A school electing to opt-out must notify, in writing, the commissioner and sport advisory chair by the opt-out date, or risk a $1,000 fine, according to the section website.

To reduce the fine to $500, administration must present a corrective action plan at the next executive council meeting and attend the administrative workshop in August, the section stated.

The section seeding meeting for volleyball is Oct. 22 at the section office, located at 2241 St. George Lane, unit 2, in Chico. It is open to the public.

Division V

East Nicolaus, the likely runner-up finisher in the SVL, is in the top spot in Division V right now over Trinity. The Spartans lost to Colusa in a D-V semifinal match two years ago in straight sets. This year East Nic has rebounded at 13-2 overall and 10-2 in league — only falling to Colusa twice.

East Nic ends the regular season at Paradise Tuesday and home against Winters on Thursday.

To date, the rest of the division stacks up in the playoff chase as follows: Hamilton (3), Modoc (4), Quincy (4), Durham (6), Biggs (7) and Mount Shasta (8).

Division III

Sutter is currently in the No. 3 spot at 15-15 overall, 4-2 in division and 6-4 in league as of Oct. 15.

Gridley still has work to do to qualify for the postseason. The Bulldogs sit at 11-12 overall, 3-5 in division and 4-5 in league.

Gridley has Oroville on the road on Tuesday, followed by Wheatland and Las Plumas Wednesday and Thursday at home to close out the regular season.

Sutter is at Wheatland Tuesday before returning home to take on Oroville for senior night Thursday.