KHS boys volleyball wins 26-24, 26-24, 25-16, improves to 8-1 in league play
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KELSEYVILLE >> The Kelseyville Knights needed five sets to beat Credo when the two teams met last month in Rohnert Park, but the rematch was a different story Thursday night in Kelseyville.
Though the Gryphon put up a fight in the first two sets, it was the Knights who came away with a 26-24, 26-24, 25-16 victory in North Central League I boys volleyball action.
“Great team win tonight,” Kelseyville head coach Kc White said. “Credo is a great team that pushed us hard last month and pushed us hard again tonight. They have good defense, good serving and two really quality hitters that test a defense, especially one like ours which is still relatively young. The match tonight came down to a couple of key points which we won.”
One of those key points came in the first set as Credo held leads of 23-19 and 24-22. The Knights, behind a big set from Andon Beall, who had 11 kills, rallied back to win 26-24, White calling two timeouts late in the set to rally his players.
“Andon Beall should get all the praise that first set, and we definitely don’t win that set without him, but Diego Rico had 11 assists in the first set and deserves a ton of credit also,” White said.
Sebastian Cacho had two digs that White called “incredible” with Kelseyville facing a set point at 24-23.
“It’s incredible how far he has come in such a short time,” White said. “When he first started, I never envisioned Sebastian being able to play back row or serve and he has become really valuable in both areas.”
Beall added another seven kills in the second set. Kelseyville and Credo traded leads before the Knights again rallied for a 26-24 win.
“Andon and Diego picked up where they left off in the first set,” White said. “Andon collected another seven kills and Diego another seven assists, and we needed every single one as we were yet again involved in a tight set. We stuck together as a team and were able to again pull it out.”
Beall finished the match with 22 kills, 16 digs, four blocks and four aces while Rico ended up with 20 assists as well as five digs and three kills.
Credo jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set three before Kelseyville took control, building as much as a 21-10 lead. The Gryphon made one last push, scoring five straight points before White called a timeout. When play resumed, Beall recorded back-to-back kills to make it 23-15, sealing the victory.
“Our serve toughened up quite a bit as well as we collected quite a few aces in the final set to earn some free points,” White said.
Kelseyville improved to 8-1 in league and 9-10 overall.
“I would be remiss not to point out the match Andon Beall had tonight,” White said. “By far his best match of the season. Sure, he may have had higher hitting percentages this season, but as a whole, including his leadership, this was his most complete match. I’m so proud of him for staying positive and upbeat. I’m sure it is not easy to have such large roster turnover going into his senior season, and it probably doesn’t help to have an inexperienced coach either, but he has held it together to this point of the season. Regardless of how the league awards end up, he is the league MVP in my eyes.
Other Kelseyville leaders were Kolby Medina with six kills and five digs, Georg Cline with 10 digs and two aces, and Julio Lopez with nine assists, three digs and three aces.
Kelseyville returns to action Saturday in the NorCal Invitational at Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. The team’s next league match is Monday, April 13 at Laytonville.
