Escalon rallies to beat Kelseyville in five-set marathon
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ESCALON >> Leading two sets to one in the best-of-five match, the Kelseyville Knights just didn’t have enough left in the tank to pull this one out as the Escalon Cougars rallied for a 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7 win in the quarterfinal round of the NorCal Division 5 volleyball playoffs Thursday night in Escalon.
Escalon (18-15), the No. 3 seed, advances to the semifinals Saturday and will travel to No. 2 Hilmar at 6 p.m. Kelseyville, the No. 6 seed, closes out the season at 23-10 after a 4-2 postseason run.
“Our team came from behind several times,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said. “We just ran out of gas in the fifth set.”
Contributions came from several players in the quarterfinal match, a trademark of the Knights’ season, one that saw them earn a co-North Central League I championship and a third-place finish in North Coast Section Division 4. AJ Wurm helped lead the way with 25 digs and three aces, Madeline Borghesani added 23 assists and 13 digs, and Riley Hanson finished with 14 assists, three aces and a team-best 17 kills.
Also making their presence felt were Mati Mateer with eight kills, Bella Patti and Olivia Bushey with six kills apiece, Liberty Lewis with 10 digs, and Madi Byrne with five kills.
Kelseyville trailed at points in all five sets but rallied to take sets two and three.
“The whole season this team gave it their all,” McCallister said. “They have had a wonderful support system from their parents, families, friends and KVUSD staff and administration. How lucky we are to live in the Kelseyville community.”
The match marked the final high school volleyball action for seniors Wurm, Mateer, Patti, Borghesani and Lewis, all of whom played significant roles in the team’s success in 2025. Bushey, Byrne, Hanson, Hobbs and Jordyn Wurm all return next season along with the team’s playoff call-ups, Paelynn Beall and Brooklyn Young. Next year’s varsity also inherits several players off the school’s league-champion junior varsity squad.
PLAYOFF NOTES: Just as in the first round of the NorCal Division 5 playoffs, the top seeds won all four quarterfinal-round matches. Kelseyville-Escalon was the only one that went five sets. No. 1 Sutter won in four sets while No. 2 Hilmar and No. 4 Colusa swept their opponents … In the SoCal bracket, the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds are out of the running while No. 11 Nogales is still alive … Kelseyville has plenty of talent coming back and coming up, but the Knights will have to find a new libero and setter next season if they want to maintain that high level of play.