Knights improve to 10-0 with win over St. Helena; Mustangs sweep Trojans
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CLOVERDALE >> Upper Lake High School’s varsity volleyball team gave Cloverdale all it could want for the first two sets, but the Eagles began to take control in the third set of this North Central League I match and battled their way to a 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 victory Thursday night in Cloverdale.
Upper Lake (4-6) was trying to hand Cloverdale (9-1) only its second league loss of the season as the Eagles battle Kelseyville (10-0) for the league title.
“Tonight didn’t end the way I had hoped,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “We came out strong in the first set and started slow in the second, but the girls fought hard to climb bank. By the third set, that fight just wasn’t there anymore, and in the fourth, I really thought we were going to pull it out, but we lacked a bit of mental toughness tonight.”
Upper Lake trailed by double digits early in the second set before roaring back to take the lead at one point. The two teams traded point after point down the stretch and just missed taking a two-sets-to-none lead in the best-of-five match.
“There were moments where it started to shine through, but ultimately we beat ourselves,” Gudmundson said. “That said, I don’t want to overlook the improvement we showed since the last time we faced Cloverdale (a 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 Eagles win on Sept. 16 in Upper Lake). We’re growing, and that’s important.”
Upper Lake had won three straight league matches entering play and an upset of the Eagles would have elevated the Cougars to the .500 mark in the league standings.
Alyssa John (15 kills, six blocks) and Aimee Schaefers (12 kills, 11 blocks) held their own up front against a powerful Cloverdale attack led by junior Ronni Hatcher. Johnson also had 21 digs and 11 service points while Schaefers contributed 15 digs and eight service points.
Other Upper Lake leaders were Camila Martin with 19 assists and six service points, and Ava Witter with 19 digs.
“We’ll regroup and get ready for Kelseyville on Tuesday (in Upper Lake),” Gudmundson said. “It’s going to be another tough matchup, but I’m hoping we can go in stronger, more confident and ready to compete for a few solid rounds.”
Upper Lake’s junior varsity squad beat Cloverdale 25-16, 20-25, 15-12 to improve to 6-4 in the league standings.
Jordyn Parker led the team with 10 kills, including a handful of key kills in the third and deciding set, the final one on match point.
“Jordyn Parker had some nice swings to help us get the win,” Rave said. “I can’t wait until she’s eager to swing all the time. She’s exciting to watch grow as a player.”
Parker also had two blocks and five digs.
Lizzie Fernandez came up big for the Cougars in the first set, according to Rave.
“Lizzie Fernandez had some great swings at the net,” Rave said.
Fernandez finished the match with seven kills.
Other Upper Lake leaders were Kylee Solorio with eight digs, six assists and two aces, Kenzie Foley with eight service points, two aces, eight digs and six assists, and Emily Franco with eight digs and two aces.
Kelseyville def. St. Helena
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights barely worked up a sweat while rolling through the St. Helena Saints 25-9, 25-9, 25-12 to remain undefeated in league play with four matches remaining, including a big Oct. 21 showdown at Cloverdale.
“The girls played well tonight,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said. “Back row defense and passing from Bella Patti and AJ Wurm continues to be strong. The entire team served the ball well, only making seven service errors in 72 attempts.”
Madison Byrne (five kills) and Olivia Bushey (four kills) made no attack errors during the three-set sweep. Riley Hanson led the team with eight kills and also had 11 assists. Mati Mateer added five kills, four aces and seven digs, Maddy Borghesani finished with 14 assists and three aces, and Patti had seven digs and three kills.
Kelseyville’s JVs also improved to 10-0 in league play with a 25-18, 25-6 win over St. Helena (7-3).
“The girls played well and continue to work on their defense,” McCallister said. “Grace Peterson and Gabby Keyes are really doing a great job passing and digging in the back row.”
Peterson finished with 16 digs while Keyes had six digs. Other team leaders were Brooklyn Young with six digs and five assists, Paelynn Beall with six digs, and Aubree Sperber with four kills.
Middletown def. Lower Lake
At Middletown, Middletown (5-5) climbed back to the .500 mark in league play with a 25-7, 25-16, 25-14 win over Lower Lake (0-10). Bridget Lisenbee had a big serving night for the Mustangs with a 10-point run from the line in the first set and a seven-point run in the second set. Jordyn Harbison also served eight points in a row in the first set.
“We had very minimal errors on serve receive and digging tonight,” Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said. “That allowed us to run our offense.”
Added Galvan, “Our strength was in serving tonight. We had a team total of 19 aces.”
Lisenbee finished the match with 18 service points, seven aces, 19 digs and 11 assists.
“Her serves were on fire tonight,” Galvan said. “She hit every spot I called for her.”
Harbison added 14 service points, four of them aces, as well as 12 digs.
Other Middletown leaders were Carly Johnson with 12 kills and three blocks, Harley Holley with four kills, eight service points and three aces, Samantha Maccario with 12 digs, seven service points and three aces, Hailey Williams with seven kills, Brenna Goodloe with four kills, and Trinity Galvan with 11 digs, 10 assists, two kills and one ace.
Khaya Chaney’s six kills and two blocks led the Trojans.
“Tough game tonight,” Lower Lake head coach Vikki Poni said. “We fought hard as a team. The whole team contributed some great passes and strong serves. I’m proud of the effort from the whole team.”
Middletown makes the long trip to Fort Bragg on Tuesday to play the Timberwolves (7-3) while Lower Lake returns home to play St. Helena (3-7).
Middletown’s JVs took over sole possession of second place in the league standings with a 25-9, 25-15 win over Lower Lake.
Middletown (8-2) trails Kelseyville by two games in the standings with four matches remaining for both teams.
“We did really well limiting our errors tonight,” Middletown head coach Vanessa Davis said. “We ran in-system, which allowed for good attack practice. Everyone on the team had the opportunity to hit the ball.”
Hannah Tribby, the team’s setter, served 10 straight points in the first set in addition to racking up a team-best 18 assists as well as four aces, four digs and three kills.
“Hannah did great spreading out our offense, which led to a diverse attack,” Davis said.
Middle blocker Grace Williams finished with three kills, five service points, one ace and three digs while opposite hitter Chloe Pulido had six service points, three aces, three kills, two digs and one assist. Another leader was middle blocker Jaqui Nunez with three kills (and no hitting errors) and three digs.
Fort Bragg def. Clear Lake
At Lakeport, the Clear Lake Cardinals just missed upsetting Fort Bragg as the Timberwolves pulled off a 13-25, 25-19, 25-121, 22-25, 15-10 victory, a far cry from Fort Bragg’s three-set sweep of the Cardinals last month in Fort Bragg.
“The team played some great volleyball last night, showing strong communication and teamwork throughout the match,” Clear Lake head coach Izzy Bonilla said. “Their energy and enthusiasm was contagious, and it really helped keep the momentum on our side.”
Faith McIntire had a big night at the net with 14 kills and six blocks. The senior also had two aces. Lindee Bingham added another 11 kills and five blocks, and Triniti Kuecker finished with seven kills, 17 digs and three aces.
Other Clear Lake leaders were Atiana Patino with 24 digs and three aces, Avery Fiske with 11 digs and six kills, Ashlynn Cruz with 25 digs and four aces, and Jazmine Wiebusch with 34 assists.
“I’m proud of how they competed and supported one another from start to finish,” Bonilla said.
Clear Lake hosts Cloverdale on Tuesday.
Clear Lake won the JV match 25-19, 23-25, 15-9 to improve to 3-7 in league play.
