Middletown beats Upper Lake in four-set match, Clear Lake sweeps Lower Lake
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CLOVERDALE >> After wasting a two-sets-to-one lead on Sept. 25 in Kelseyville, the Cloverdale Eagles made sure that didn’t happen a second time.
Needing a win against undefeated Kelseyville to forge a first-place tie atop the North Central League I varsity volleyball standings, the Eagles won two of the first three sets against the Knights on Tuesday night, fell in the fourth set, but recovered to post a down-to-the-wire 17-25, 25-16, 25-13, 16-25, 15-13 victory before a large and enthusiastic crowd in Cloverdale.
Kelseyville fans were well represented and did everything they could to root the Knights on, but Cloverdale (13-1) came through with the clutch win, handing the Knights (13-1) their first league loss this season and snapping the team’s 20-match league winning streak dating back to last season.
The race for the league title ends Thursday when Kelseyville visits Fort Bragg (8-5) and Cloverdale calls on Lower Lake (0-13). If both teams win, they’ll share the league title.
Though not much separated the two teams in the end, Cloverdale had just enough of an edge in the serving department to best the Knights. Kelseyville struggled with its serve most of the match and gave three critical points to the Eagles on service errors in the fifth and deciding set. Cloverdale broke out to a 3-0 lead before Kelseyville rallied in front 6-5.
With Cloverdale up 13-11, Kelseyville appeared to win a point, but it was declared a do-over by the officials when a ball ricocheted off the basketball backboard hanging down over the volleyball floor, a ruling that didn’t sit well with the Knights or their fans. Two other calls during the five-set marathon also went against Kelseyville, but the Knights probably only have themselves to blame. After playing a strong first set, they didn’t put up much of a challenge in sets two and three as the Eagles took control of the match, led by junior middle hitter Ronni Hatcher.
The Knights were able to wrestle back momentum with a solid fourth set, but the Eagles recovered in the fifth set, their attack just a bit better than Kelseyville’s on this night.
“The girls never gave up,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said. “I appreciate their hard work and dedication to each other. They have a lot of talent and heart, which was demonstrated when the chips were down.”
Her team in a hole after three sets, McCallister changed things up.
“I made some adjustments that helped in the fourth and fifth sets, which was playing Madison Byrne all around. Props to our freshman; she performance like a seasoned pro.”
Added McCallister, “I needed to make a couple of more adjustments that may have changed the outcome. Now it’s back to the gym and prepare for Fort Bragg, which is an important game.”
Kelseyville beat Fort Bragg in the minimum three sets Sept. 30.
Riley Hanson finished with 11 kills, 17 assists, 11 digs and three aces for the Knights, Olivia Bushey also had 11 kills, and Byrne and Mati Mateer each added seven kills. Other team leaders were AJ Wurm with 35 digs, Bella Patti with 19 digs, and Maddy Borghesani with 22 assists.
Kelseyville won the junior varsity match 25-13, 25-11 to clinch the undisputed league title, the Knights’ third straight league crown under head coach Maille McCallister.
“Congratulations to JV coach Maille McCallister as she collects her third league pennant in a row,” varsity head coach Donelle McCallister said. “Maille is a wonderful coach that has been dedicated to improving the skills on this team.”
Brooklyn Young finished with a team-best 16 assists, Paelynn Beall added five kills while Ashley Cox and Aubree Sperber added four kills apiece. Bella Farfan Boyles had five aces.
Middletown def. Upper Lake
At Upper Lake, the Middletown Mustangs guaranteed themselves no worse than a .500 league campaign with a 12-25 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 victory over the Upper Lake Cougars.
Middletown can finish with a winning record by beating Clear Lake on Thursday in Middletown, which is senior night for the Mustangs (7-6). Upper Lake (5-8) hosts its own senior night Thursday at home against St. Helena.
“Harley Holley was absolutely on fire tonight,” Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said. “She was something else with her intensity and aggressive swings at the net. She had a career high of 21 kills, and the most from any player this season. I’m so proud of how she played tonight.”
Holley, one of the team’s two seniors, also had two blocks and seven digs. Middletown’s other senior, Carly Johnson, finished with 12 kills, 10 service points, two aces, six digs and one assist.
Bridget Lisenbee finished with 35 assists, 16 digs 13 service points and four aces. Hailey Williams added eight kills.
Jordyn Harbison contributed 16 digs, seven service points and three aces.
“Jordyn Harbison had a good service run at the end of the fourth set, which included three aces to help us take the lead,” Galvan said. “We started out extremely slow and not moving our feet on defense. We had way too many errors. After the first set, the girls locked in and kept chipping away for the first of the match.”
“Even though the result didn’t go our way, the girls played hard and showed a lot of fight throughout the match,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said.
“In the third set, we showed some fight. We were down 14-9 and came back to tie it at 20-20, but again, a few tough calls seemed to go their way and took the wind out of us. By the time the fourth set rolled around, it looked like we were playing from behind mentally,” Gudmundson said.
Alyssa Johnson finished with 18 kills and seven blocks to lead the Cougars while Aimee Schaefers added 16 kills and 10 blocks. Other team leaders were Camila Martin with 27 assists and 11 service points, Riley Jones with 13 service points and five aces, and Eva Witter with 11 service points and 10 digs.
Middletown’s JVs secured sole possession of second place in the league standings with a 25-18, 22-25, 15-5 win over Upper Lake.
The Mustangs (11-2) trail only Kelseyville (13-0) in the league standings.
Outside hitters Emma Davis (13 kills, 13 digs, eight service points, six aces) and Emma Jones (eight service points, five aces, five kills, seven digs) led the Mustangs while setter Hannah Tribby contributed 23 assists, 10 service points, two kills and two aces.
“Middletown struggled on defense tonight but came back very strong on our offensive attack,” Middletown head coach Vanessa Davis said. “Hannah Tribby is leading her team very well, making good set choices. She communicates with her team beautifully.”
Added Davis, “Emma Davis and Emma Jones hit the ball with power and were dominant on the outside attack.”
“Not how we wanted the night to end,” Upper Lake head coach Fawn Rave said as the Cougars fell to 7-6 in league action. “The first set was slow, not much of anything. We didn’t get many swings off and struggled covering. In the second set, Kylee (Solorio) started us off with six service points. They woke up a bit, had some good rallies and started working the net swinging and blocking. We continued to struggle to cover throughout all three sets.”
Solorio finished with seven service points, five aces, 11 digs and five assists. Jordyn Parker added three kills, seven blocks and five digs, Kenzie Foley had 19 digs and two kills, and Lizzie Fernandez finished with three kills and one block.
Clear Lake def. Lower Lake
At Lakeport, Clear Lake honored seniors Triniti Kuecker, Faith McIntire, Lindee Bingham and Atiana Patino during its final home match of the season before beating the Lower Lake Trojans 25-19, 25-20, 25-22.
Patino and Ashlynn Cruz each served up seven aces in the sweep, McIntire led the team with five kills, and Bingham had four kills.
“Last night was an emotional evening, a true celebration for our four amazing seniors who have given so much to this program, Clear Lake head coach Izzy Bonilla said. “It’s been wonderful having them as part of the team this season; their leadership, spirit and dedication have left a lasting impact and will be deeply missed.”
Added Bonilla, “A big thank you to the parents as well for doing such a great job with the presentation and making the night so special.”
Clear Lake (3-10) snapped a six-match league losing streak while Lower Lake (0-13) remained winless in league play. The Trojans are without a league win since Oct. 3, 2023, when they beat Willits, a team that no longer plays in the NCL I.
“The girls played hard tonight against Clear Lake High, but unfortunately it wasn’t our night,” Middletown head coach Vikki Poni said. “Despite their effort and hustle, we just couldn’t get over the hump to pull out the win.”
Added Poni, “We’ll regroup and look ahead to Thursday as we return home for senior night to close out our season.”
Lower Lake hosts Cloverdale beginning with the JV match at 5 p.m. Cloverdale’s varsity will clinch no worse than a league co-championship with a win.
Clear Lake beat Lower Lake in the JV match 25-20, 25-18. The Cardinals improved to 4-9 in league play while Lower Lake slipped to 0-13.
