Cardinals, Cougars drops NCL I road matches
Lake County Sports on Facebook
KELSEYVILLE >> Kelseyville snapped a two-match losing streak, returning home to beat the Lower Lake Trojans 25-7, 25-13, 25-14 in North Central League I varsity volleyball action Thursday night in Kelseyville.
The win keeps Kelseyville (6-2) in the thick of what is shaping up to be a five-team race down the stretch. The Knights and St. Helena (6-2) sit just one-half game behind Cloverdale (7-2) in the league standings, with Middletown (5-3) and defending champion Fort Bragg (5-3) close behind. Kelseyville plays at Middletown while Cloverdale hosts St. Helena next Tuesday.
“The girls played a little more lighter tonight,” said Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister following road losses to Cloverdale and Fort Bragg. “They worked together as personnel changed throughout the match.”
Olivia Hommer’s eight kills led the team and Savannah Helm added five kills. Other team leaders were Matisyn Mateer with four aces, Madeline Borghesani with three aces and three assists, and Ashlyn Klein with eight assists.
Lower Lake (0-8) continues to look for its first league win.
“Rough game tonight, which we figured it was going to be with Kelseyville coming off two losses,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “They were hungry and played well, extremely well tonight. They were hitting well and we just couldn’t withstand the barrage.”
Brooke Benson led the team with six digs, five kills and two blocks.
“I’m proud of the girls on my team for fighting until the end, even when they are outmatched,” Tubbs said.
Kelseyville also won the junior varsity match, 25-18, 25-10, improving to 8-0 in the league standings. Olivia Bushey finished with a team-best six kills and Aubree Sperber had five. Other leaders were Meghan Renfro with eight aces and Brooklyn Young with seven assists.
“The girls continue to work well together,” McCallister said.
While Kelseyville is visiting Middletown on Tuesday, Lower Lake’s teams make the long ride to Fort Bragg. JV action at both sites starts at 5 p.m.
In other NCL I volleyball action Thursday:
Fort Bragg def. Upper Lake
At Fort Bragg, the Upper Lake Cougars couldn’t mount much of a challenge on the Mendocino County coast, falling to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves, 25-12, 25-18, 25-22.
“We lost the fight we had at the beginning of the season,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “We fought had the first half of the season. We never gave up. Tonight, we gave up. The second set, it was clear that we were not in the right headspace.”
In an attempt to avoid the sweep against a team it took to five sets earlier this season in Upper Lake, the Cougars (1-8) rallied from a 15-5 deficit in the third set, coming back to tie it up at 19-19.
“Unfortunately, it was little too late. We went back and forth until 22-22 and then made some communication errors, which led us to lose by three points,” Gudmunson said.
Added Gudmundson on her young team’s struggles this season, “There is a mental barrier within our team that we just haven’t seem to be able to overcome this season. I hope before the season ends, we find a way past it.”
Aimee Schaefers collected 11 digs, nine blocks and nine service points in the loss. Alyssa John led the team with five kills while Angelina Rivera had three kills and three blocks.
Fort Bragg also won the JV match, 25-19, 25-12, dropping Upper Lake to 0-9 in league play.
Upper Lake’s teams travel to Lakeport on Tuesday to play Clear Lake beginning at 5 p.m.
St. Helena def. Clear Lake
At St. Helena, the St. Helena Saints beat the Clear Lake Cardinals 25-19, 25-8, 20-25, 25-17 to move to within a half-game of Cloverdale atop the league standings. St. Helena travels to Cloverdale (7-2) on Tuesday.
Clear Lake falls to 3-5.
“Unfortunately, too many injuries and a lack of communication occurred, “Clear Lake head coach Izzy Short staid. “But we are keeping our heads up and getting ready for the upcoming matches.”
Emily Gersalia had 18 assists for Clear Lake as well as two blocks. Kaylah Billig led the team with seven kills and five blocks while Lindee Bingham added six kills. Violet Stewart helped out with three aces and Atiana Patino had 14 digs and two kills.
St. Helena also won the JV match, rallying for a 22-25, 25-22, 15-12 win.
“The Cardinals fought for every ball later in the match but just couldn’t wrap it up,” Short said.,
Ashlynn Cruz led the way for Clear Lake, finishing with seven kills, seven aces and nine digs. Kiara Hopkins added five kills, Jazmine Wiebusch had 15 assists and three kills, Aliya Valadez contributed 16 digs, and Avery Fiske had six kills.
Clear Lake’s teams are home Tuesday to play Upper Lake starting at 5 p.m.