Questionable call late in fifth set costs Knights a shot at big road win
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UKIAH >> In a non-league boys volleyball match that went down to the wire, the Ukiah Wildcats beat the Kelseyville Knights 13-25, 25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13 on Wednesday evening in Ukiah.
Kelseyville (5-5) trailed 14-13 in the fifth and deciding set when Kolby Medina smashed the ball over the never for what appeared to be a Knights point, but the ball was ruled out and Ukiah won the match.
“We started well in the fifth set, but a couple points got away from us and we found ourselves trailing 14-12,” Kelseyville head coach Kc White said. “We somehow won the next point thanks to a net cord keeping the ball on our side for a third hit. Down 14-13, Kolby Medina had a beautiful tip on the near court, and it clearly landed in from my vantage point, and the linesperson called it in, but the up ref overruled her and that unfortunately ended the game.”
Added White, “It was a frustrating way to end it because we should have had Andon Beall serving at 14-14, and with the way he was serving tonight, we could have easily won the game (and match), but them’s the breaks. I hate to fixate over one call because we ourselves dug the hole. We were lethargic in the middle sets and forgot the basics. We will use this to improve and get better.”
Beall led the Knights with 18 kills, 17 kills, three aces and one block while Medina had eight kills and 10 digs. Other team leaders were Sebastian Cacho with five kills on 11 swings, five digs and two blocks. Diego Rico added 24 assists, five kills and seven digs.
“Kolby Medina played his tail off tonight,” White said. “He was on the floor more times than I could count and he was hitting the ball in the court, making Ukiah defend. He showed great energy all night. Sebastian Cacho had easily his best game of the season so far. He had a bunch of kills and served really well. He had some digs in the back row, too.”
Kelseyville jumps right back into action Thursday when it visits Lower Lake for a North Central League I match at 5 p.m.
