Lancers clean up at Lake County Junior High Athletic League postseason tournament
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UPPER LAKE >> When it comes to volleyball in Lake County, Kelseyville reigns supreme, whether it be high school or middle school.
For the third straight year, Kelseyville High School’s junior varsity and varsity teams finished atop the North Central League I standings. Likewise in the Lake County Junior High Athletic League, the Mountain Vista Middle School A and B squads nailed down championships for a third year in a row, both winning their respective divisions Saturday as the league postseason tournament drew to a close at Upper Lake Middle School.
A division
Mountain Vista’s A team avenged its only league loss by beating Upper Lake in the championship match 25-12, 15-25, 15-13.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Mountain Vista co-head coach Sara Hanson said. “We came out fired up and ready. We lost confidence after a few team errors (in the second set). We had trouble passing some deep, hard serves. We rallied and came out strong and gained our confidence back in the third set.”
Leading the way were Amelia Kennedy with 12 aces, Hazel Hanson with 12 kills and 11 digs, Maylee Antoni with 21 service points, Ari Patti with nine digs and four kills, Lily Rico with 10 digs, and Emma Escarcega with nine digs. The Lancers also received some clutch serving from Shyann Beverlin, who served the final three points of the third set.
“The girls worked hard, made some great plays and showed they wanted it,” Hanson said. “It was a hard-fought team effort.”
Hanson also praised the back row play of Braelynn Burton and Cassie Keyes, each with five digs.
“Alondra Gomez showed up big at the net with a few block touches and did a great job playing the ball off the net,” Hanson said.
Mountain Vista advanced to the championship match with a 25-13, 25-20 win over Obsidian.
Mountain Vista went 17-1 this season.
Earning All-League honors for the Lancers were Patti, Antoni and Hanson.
The A team is coached by the sister duo of Hanson and Becky Knox.
Third place
Middletown def. Obsidian 27-25, 25-21 in the third-place match behind nine kills and two aces from Lily Day, three aces and three kills from Remmi Harbison, three aces and 11 assists from Stella Brand, two aces and 13 digs from Mia Martin, and two aces and two kills from Camila Galvan.
Day and Martin earned All-League recognition.
B division
Mountain Vista’s B team beat Middletown 25-18, 18-25, 15-9 for the league championship after defeating Obsidian in a first-round match.
“The girls came out strong and full of energy and lost their momentum in the second set before settling in and taking control of the third set for the win,” Mountain Vista coach Itzia Rico said. “We are really proud of how the girls came together, supported each other, and showed they really want it. It has been a great season with five seasoned players guiding and pushing five young and new-to-the-sport players.”
Mountain Vista went 12-2 this season.
“Our B team started shaky in the first set but found their spark in the second set,” Middletown head coach Niki Emberson said. “There were some awesome rallies on both sides of the net, and both teams played some great volleyball today.”
Results of the B-division third-place match were not reported.
