Mace fills up stats sheet in Middletown’s three-set win over Upper Lake
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MIDDLETOWN >> It wasn’t their best effort of the season, but the Middletown Mustangs still came away with a three-set sweep of the Upper Lake Cougars, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16, in North Central League I varsity volleyball action Tuesday night in Middletown.
Makayla Mace filled up the stats sheet for the Mustangs (8-4) with 27 digs, 13 kills, eight service points and two aces.
“They took a little bit to warm up and get in the zone,” Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said. “Their energy was a bit off tonight, and they struggled with communication.”
Sophomore setter Isa Barnes added 32 assists and a kill while Harley Holley and Jordyn Harbison each finished with eight service points. Holley also had five kills and one block. Mia Hoogendoorn added 11 kills, 9 digs and five service points.
Middletown hosts St. Helena on Wednesday at 2 p.m. to complete a match suspended last week when the power went out at the Tallman Gym. The Mustangs close out their league and regular-season schedule Thursday at home against Clear Lake and will honor their seniors prior to that match.
Upper Lake (3-10) closes out its season Wednesday night in St. Helena.
In junior varsity action, Middletown improved to 10-3 with a 25-20, 25-18 win over Upper Lake (1-12).
“It was good seeing every player have time out on the court tonight,” Galvan said. “These girls have grown a lot throughout the season both as athletes and strong teammates. You could see that on the court with how well they worked together.”
Sammy Maccario led the Mustangs with 20 digs, six service points and two aces. Cooper Menzio had a run of five straight points at the service line with one ace, and Emma Jones added three kills.
“The whole team really stepped up tonight in many ways,” Galvan said. “I’m proud of them.”
In other NCL I action Tuesday:
Clear Lake def. Lower Lake
At Lower Lake, Clear Lake swept Lower Lake 25-22, 26-24, 25-11 to improve to 4-9 in the league standings with one match remaining. Lower Lake fell to 0-13.
Brooke Benson’s eight kills led the Trojans, who honored their five seniors – Benson, Izabela Hernandez, Alyxa Milano, Ayla Ales and Mia Garcia – prior to their final home match. Hernandez served up five aces while Jamiya Lee-Ayers led the team with three blocks. Brooke Watson and Leanne Ortega had eight digs apiece.
“Each of the first two sets were back-and-forth, high-energy volleyball, our best play of the season,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “We just couldn’t get over that hump to finish. We played really hard for the seniors during their last home game.
“The third set we just didn’t have it, too many mistakes to overcome,” Tubbs said.
Kaylah Billig and Lindee Bingham led the Cardinals with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Violet Stewart added seven kills, Emily Gersalia had seven assists and Atiana Patino four aces.
“The team had a challenging start but managed to pull through and finish each set,” Clear Lake head coach Izzy Short said.
Both Clear Lake and Lower Lake wrap up their seasons Thursday with away matches – Clear Lake at Middletown and Lower Lake ata Cloverdale.
Clear Lake won the JV match 25-17, 25-11 behind eight aces from Gurleen Kaur, nine digs from Aliya Valadez and six kills from Avery Fiske. Other team leaders were Ashlynn Cruz with five kills and three aces, Kiara Hopkins with four kills, and Jazmine Wiebusch with eight assists.
“They have strong communication and found their rhythm and played confidently,” Short said of her Clear Lake players.
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