Sports briefs: Tam, Marin Catholic advance to volleyball semifinals

The final four for MCAL girls volleyball is officially set after Tam and Marin Catholic defended their home courts against San Marin and San Rafael, respectively, on Tuesday night.

No. 4 seed Tam (20-9) advances to face host and top seed Redwood (17-8) at 5 p.m. Wednesday. No. 3 Marin Catholic (22-5) — which defeated San Rafael 25-15, 25-15, 25-12 — moves on to face No. 2 Branson (17-6) in the second half of a doubleheader at Redwood.

Natalie Stanford had 12 kills, five blocks, six digs, and two aces to help Tam get past San Marin 25-15, 25-15, 25-22. Jade Curtin-Savala added 13 digs while Emmeline Sandgren had 20 assists, four kills, three aces, and two blocks.

San Marin (16-18) was led by Brianna Nottingham with nine kills and 11 digs, plus Damen Heath with 14 assists.

Flag football

Olivia Van Dis opened and closed the scoring for San Marin as the Mustangs claimed the first MCAL league title and the automatic berth into the North Coast Section playoffs that comes with it following a 32-0 victory against San Rafael on Tuesday night.

Van Dis returned a punt 43 yards for the opening touchdown then caught a 29-yard score from quarterback Avery Bishop to make it 32-0. Leah Cronin also returned an interception for a touchdown to put the Mustangs in front 20-0.

Girls tennis

San Domenico picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 3 singles plus No. 3 doubles but ultimately fell 4-3 against Bay on Tuesday. Mimi-Helene Kranz got the win at No. 1 singles and Lily Lesser picked up the win at No. 3 singles. The team of Zooye Chen and Louis Zhang worked overtime for a 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 doubles victory.

Boys water polo

Finn MacDonald scored five times and Kai Kurtzig scored twice to lift San Domenico to its first ever MCAL victory, a 9-7 win against Novato on Tuesday. The Panthers (1-10, 1-8 MCAL) have had a program since 2022 and have been in the MCAL since the 2023 season.

Goalie Demyd Korsak had 18 blocks for the Panthers. The Hornets (3-14, 1-7) were led by Jack Wein’s five goals.

• Rogan Burke netted twice for Tam in a 16-3 loss to Campolindo (17-5) under the lights on Tuesday night. Declan Murphy scored a goal and drew four kickouts for Tam (12-6), which wraps up league play against Novato on Thursday. The Red-tailed Hawks have already clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s MCAL playoffs.

Girls water polo

San Domenico also registered its first victory of the season, getting five goals from Sanne Kostecki in a 10-8 victory against Novato on Tuesday. The Panthers (1-10, 1-9) also got two goals from Kayla Li and 12 blocks from goalie Frances Kramer. Becca Marks scored four times for the Hornets (0-9, 0-7).

• Goalie Eden Zoeckler had 11 blocks to help San Marin clinch the No. 5 seed in next week’s MCAL playoffs following a 14-4 win against San Rafael on Tuesday. The Mustangs (17-4, 5-4) also clinched their first winning record in MCALs in more than a decade, according to coach Patty Dougherty.