Rarely does a single athlete take the spotlight away from the team aspect of a state championship event, especially when that athlete isn’t playing for the team that wins the championship.

But that was the case at the 2000 Hyundai California Community College Women’s Volleyball Championships played Dec. 1-3 at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.

Freshman Juliana Guimaraes (a 6-foot-2 freshman from Brazil) did just about everything in her power to keep her Long Beach City College Vikings from defeat Sunday, but her MVP efforts only forced Golden West College to dig deeper than ever before for its eighth consecutive state championship.

Guimaraes, who had 27 kills in the finals and led the tourney in kills and aces, helped push the exciting championship finale to the distance. Golden West came back from two games down to outlast the feisty Vikings, 13-15, 8-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-11.

Golden West (27-0) extended its amazing winning streak to 92 consecutive matches (dating back to 1997) and its postseason win streak to 30 matches. Coach Albert Gasparian’s Rustlers received an 18-kill performance from sophomore middle blocker Grace Boyd and 15 kills by all-tourney selection and freshman Sarah Boogaard to offset the dominating hitting of Guimaraes.

Guimaraes hit .479 in the final match and added three aces despite twice having to go to the bench for extended intervals to receive treatment for an injured shoulder. She led the way as Long Beach surprised the Blanchard Gym crowd by jumping out to a two games-to-none lead. Kui Fletcher also was instrumental for LBCC with 14 kills and 25 digs.

Guimares, with 90 kills in 20 games played (4.5 per game clip), is the first MVP from a losing team since Yami Menendez won it for runner-up El Camino in 1985.

Golden West freshman setter Amanda Siler was outstanding as well in the finals match with 45 assists, nine kills (.375 hitting) and 12 digs. Siler also was selected to the 12-player All-Tournament team (see all-tourney list on this site).

Golden West’s road to the title included a sweep over previously undefeated Cabrillo, 15-3, 15-3, 15-7, Friday (Dec. 1), and a sweep to end Moorpark’s 21-match winning streak in its first contest on Saturday (Dec. 2), 15-6, 15-3, 16-14.

In perhaps the most polished match of the tourney, Golden West foreshadowed the championship final by withstanding all it could from then-undefeated Long Beach in the winner’s bracket final Saturday (Dec. 2), 15-10, 11-15, 15-12, 15-12. Siler had 62 assists and nine kills, while Boogaard added 23 kills.

Long Beach (22-2) advanced to the championship match by defeating NorCal’s top seed and host San Joaquin Delta, 14-16, 15-5, 15-12, 15-9 on Sunday. The Vikings again relied on Guimares who had 15 kills, 18 digs, five assists and a tourney high five aces. Sarah McCrary also aided Long Beach with 17 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.

Delta (24-3) finished in third place for the second straight season and solidified itself as NorCal’s top team. All-Tournament selections Lindy Northcutt (20 kills) and Jill Parmele (19 kills) forced the elimination match to a hard-fought four games.

Delta exacted revenge on Ventura, the tourney’s fourth place team, by sweeping the Pirates, 15-8, 15-11, 15-11 in the day’s opening elimination match. Ventura, the SoCal’s fourth seed, shocked the Mustangs by sweeping them, 15-12, 15-8, 15-5, on the first night of play two days earlier.

The consistent Northcutt used her heavy hitting with another 20-kill performance to go with 16 digs to help down Ventura (20-5). Ventura was hurt by the limited play of its top hitter in the tourney Elena Salvador, who was ill for the second Delta match.

In second-day action, Delta went to five games to finally eliminate Moorpark, 15-13, 9-15, 15-9, 4-15, 15-12. Mustangs’ sophomore setter Katie Leymaster had a tourney high 64 assists. For Moorpark (22-3), Carina Nusinov had 20 kills.

Ventura knocked out Cabrillo (19-2) in four games, 9-15, 15-9, 15-5, 16-14. Salvador had 24 kills, while freshman setter Kathleen Solomon contributed an all-around effort with nine kills, 47 assists, and 14 digs. For Cabrillo, Denise Sheldon pounded 24 kills.

Cabrillo and Moorpark finished in a tie for fifth place.

Earlier in Saturday’s action, Delta made short work of NorCal's fourth-seeded Butte, 15-3, 15-3, 15-9. Butte (19-4) and Santa Rosa (19-6), who was swept by Cabrillo, each were sent home early after going 0-2 in the double-elimination tourney.

On the opening night, The SoCal teams all swept the NorCal teams to send a resounding message that the SoCal region is certainly the stronger of the two in community college women’s volleyball.