Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Tigers will play Cardinal Newman on Saturday.

The Tigers are having fun, and they don’t want it to stop.

A senior-heavy Arcata volleyball team has been close to unstoppable recently, storming through league play and carrying that momentum into the North Coast Section Division-IV playoffs.

On Thursday, the No. 8 seeds rolled over No. 9 St. Mary’s in straight sets in the opening round to set up a Saturday quarterfinal against top-seeded Cardinal Newman.

The win was the eighth straight for the 24-7 Tigers, who have remarkably dropped just one set in that run and were a perfect 8-0 on the way to clinching this year’s Big 5 title.

They will have their hands full against a Cardinals team that is 25-5, however,  and one that went 9-1 on the way to winning the North Bay League Oak Division.

Arcata’s Bella Peterman

For comparison sake, the Cardinals are ranked No. 142 in the state, according to MaxPreps, while the Tigers are No. 327.

But that won’t deter an Arcata team with nothing to lose, and one that won’t lack confidence heading into the big Saturday night showdown.

Maya Mircetich has been leading the way all season with an MVP-caliber campaign, and was instrumental again in Thursday’s win with a team-high 12 kills.

She wasn’t the only senior to play a big role in what was a strong team effort.

Mekaynea Solia had five kills and four aces, while Bella Peterman finished with eight kills and four blocks.

Senior libero Lilli Bowman added 11 digs, while Erin Lamphear had 12 service points.

Junior Avery Thornburgh also had a big game with six kills and three blocks.

Saturday’s game will take place at Rancho Cotate High in Rohnert Park at 7 p.m.

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.