Kelseyville, Middletown pick up home wins during Tuesday league action
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LAKE COUTY >> Get ready for a wild finish to this year’s North Central League I varsity volleyball race, which is still a five-team affair following Tuesday’s round of matches on the second-to-last week of the regular season.
While Kelseyville (9-2) and Cloverdale (9-2) both won at home to remain tied for the league lead, Middletown (7-4) staved off elimination with a clutch win at home against defending NCL I champion Fort Bragg, sweeping the season series from the Timberwolves (7-4), while St. Helena (7-4) kept its title hopes alive with a straight-set win at home against Lower Lake.
Things could become a bit clearer on Thursday when Cloverdale hosts Fort Bragg and Middletown hosts St. Helena in a must-win for both teams. Kelseyville travels to Clear Lake (3-8) in an always-entertaining match between the two archrivals.
Regardless of what happens Thursday, next week’s matches – St. Helena at Fort Bragg on Monday, Oct. 21, Cloverdale at Kelseyville on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Fort Bragg at Kelseyville on Thursday, Oct. 24 – provide all sorts of possibilities as to how the NCL I race will shake out.
Here’s a look back at Tuesday’s matches:
Kelseyville def. Upper Lake
At Kelseyville, since losing in five sets to Fort Bragg back on Oct. 1 in Fort Bragg, the Kelseyville Knights have won each of their last four league matches in the minimum three sets, including a 25-17, 26-16, 25-14 victory Tuesday over the Upper Lake Cougars.
Nyejzniya Krohn’s nine kills, two blocks and three aces powered Kelseyville while Riley Hanson led the team with 15 assists, and Cali Schnabl had 17 digs. Matisyn Mateer added eight kills and Hanson also contributed three aces.
“We continue to work on passing, serving and preparing the team mentality for the highs and lows of playing in a volleyball match,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said. “Each individual continues to grow in the volleyball skills they are developing. All 13 members of the roster contribute to the success of the team.”
Aimee Schaefers’ six kills and six blocks led Upper Lake (2-9).
“There was not much communication tonight on our side of the court, and we weren’t playing at our usual level on the defensive side of the ball, which hurt us tonight,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said.
Alyssa John added four kills to the Upper Lake attack while Angelina Rivera had service points and two kills.
“Tomorrow, we will focus on those areas in hopes of bouncing back Thursday for our Dig Pink and the senior night game versus Lower Lake,” Gudmundson said.
Upper Lake hosts Lower Lake in its final home match of the season Thursday. The Cougars finish up next week on the road against Middletown and St. Helena.
In junior varsity action, Kelseyville bounced back from a three-set loss to St. Helena to beat Upper Lake 25-8, 25-7. The Knights improved to a league-leading 10-1 while Upper Lake fell to 1-10.
Kelseyville leaders were Brooklyn Young with nine assists, Aubree Sperber with six aces and Grace Hobbs with five kills.
Middletown def. Fort Bragg
At Middletown, the Middletown Mustangs needed a win to remain in the league title hunt and got it, taking down Fort Bragg 25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15.
Middletown had no shortage of contributors during the win. Makayla Mace had 10 kills, 12 service points, five aces and 25 digs, Mia Hoogendoorn added 10 kills, 40 digs, nine service points and four aces, Isa Barnes finished with 31 assists, eight service points, two kills and one ace, Carly Johnson had 10 kills, and Jordyn Harbison added 24 digs.
“She made some crucial digs,” Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said of Harbison.
“We battled it out with the Timberwolves,” Galvan added. “There were many long rallies, and these girls never quit.”
Middletown’s JV squad scored a straight-set 25-8, 25-15 win over the Timberwolves behind eight kills, four digs and two service points from Brenna Goodloe, 14 service points, seven aces, 10 assists, nine digs an one kill from Bridgette Lisenbee, and nine service points, three aces and seven digs from Hailey Williams.
“We had some great passing from Hailey Williams,” Galvan said.
Other team leaders were Samantha Maccario with 16 digs and Izzi Hoogendoorn with eight digs, four kills and three aces.
“The girls worked really well together,” Galvan said. “They read the other side of the court really well and came out on top.”
St. Helena def. Lower Lake
At St. Helena, the St. Helena Saints snapped a two-match losing streak by sweeping the Lower Lake Trojans 25-14, 25-15, 25-4.
For Lower Lake (0-11), Brooke Benson had two kills, two blocks and four aces while Leanna Ortega and Ayla Ales each had two kills.
Lower Lake travels to Upper Lake on Thursday.
St. Helena also won the JV match, 25-21, 25-18.
Cloverdale def. Clear Lake
At Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Eagles kept pace with the Kelseyville Knights atop the NCL I standings with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 win over the Clear Lake Cardinals (3-8).
Clear Lake statistics and JV match results were not reported as of noon Wednesday.
Clear Lake hosts Kelseyville on Thursday beginning with the JV match at 5 p.m.
