County volleyball teams open league play with mixed results
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UPPER LAKE >> Frustration with a capital “F” is what the young Upper Lake Cougars are feeling after another near-miss five-set loss, this time to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves, in North Central League I varsity volleyball action Tuesday night in Upper Lake.
Upper Lake dropped to 0-2 in league play with its second straight five-set setback, and just as they did last week in a five-set loss to the Cloverdale Eagles, the Cougars couldn’t close it out after winning two of the first three sets in the best-of-five competition. Fort Bragg (1-0), the defending league champion making its league debut, rallied for a 28-30, 25-14, 24-26, 25-15, 15-11
“The game was a tough battle, but I’m so proud of the girls for putting up such a strong fight,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “We played great in sets one and three, and everything came together. Unfortunately, that was not the case in sets two and four. Our performance in set improved from last week, and I’m confident that with some adjustments, we’ll be competing at a higher level soon.”
Upper Lake held a 10-8 lead in set four before Fort Bragg senior captain Sierra Thompson stepped to the line. Before her powerful and well-placed serves were through with the Cougars, the Timberwolves held a commanding 20-10 lead.
Both teams went point for point in the fifth set until Fort Bragg’s other senior captain, Brylie Glover, served back-to-back aces, ending a three-point Timberwolf mini-run that made it 11-8, a cushion Fort Bragg nursed through the remainder of the game.
Aimee Schaefers turned in a strong effort for the Cougars with 17 blocks, seven kills, 12 digs and eight service points. Alyssa John added 28 digs, four kills and six service points while Angelina Rivera finished with five blocks, three kills and eight service points, and Hope Marcks added 13 digs, 10 assists and four service points.
“We’ll return to the court tomorrow and focus on correcting our serve-receive issues,” Gudmundson said. “Our determination will lead us to success in our next home match Thursday.”
Upper Lake hosts Clear Lake (1-0) on Thursday with junior varsity action starting at 5 p.m.
Fort Bragg also won the junior varsity match, beating Upper Lake 25-12, 25-6. The Cougars are 0-2 in league play.
In other NCL I volleyball action Tuesday:
Kelseyville def. Lower Lake
At Lower Lake, the Kelseyville Knights opened their league schedule in impressive fashion, sweeping the Lower Lake Trojans 25-7, 25-17, 25-9 behind seven kills from Olivia Hommer and another five from Nyejzniya Krohn on only 10 arm swings.
“All 14 team members got some playing time tonight,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said.
Matisyn Mateer finished with a team-best 11 aces and Ashlyn Wurm added seven more. Ashlyn Klein had six assists.
New Lower Lake coach Shannon Tubbs, who recently took over the team after the Trojans’ coach to start the season stepped down, said it was a vintage Kelseyville performance.
“Kelseyville is a well-oiled machine,” Tubbs said. “They are definitely in a class of their own.”
Tubbs said the Trojans are overcoming a handful of obstacles as league play opens. The Clearlake area was devastated by the Boyles Fire on Sunday, a blaze that has claimed upward of 30 homes, and as a result there was no school Monday.
“We didn’t have practice yesterday due to the fire evacuation and haven’t had a full team at practice for a week and a half,” Tubbs said.
Lower Lake individual statistics weren’t available.
Kelseyville also won the JV match, 25-11, 25-6, behind seven aces apiece from Morgan Rogers and Liberty Lewis.
“A strong serving effort for the team,” McCallister said. “Lots of aces.”
McCallister also praised the passing and defense of Lewis.
Other key contributors to the win were Olivia Bushey with six kills and Meghan Renfro with six assists.
Kelseyville is home on Thursday to play Middletown while Lower Lake hosts Fort Bragg.
Cloverdale def. Middletown
At Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Eagles improved to a league-best 2-0 with a 29-27, 25-21, 25-23 win over the Middletown Mustangs (0-1), who were making their league debut.
Carly Johnson led Middletown up front with 10 kills while teammates Mia Hoogendoorn and Makayla Mace added nine and seven kills, respectively. Isa Barnes led the team with 23 assists.
“A tough loss,” Middletown head coach Norberto Quiroz said. “Passing needs to improve, and it will. We do have a team with a lot of grit.”
Middletown hits the road Thursday to play Kelseyville.
The Mustangs won the JV match, 25-22, 28-30, 15-12, to improve to 2-0 in league play. Captain and setter Bridget Lisenbee filled up the stats sheet for Middletown, logging 17 assists, 14 service points, eight digs, six aces and one kill.
“The JV girls battled it out tonight,” Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said. “We got too excited at crucial points, ending up with numerous net calls and missed important serves. Ultimately the girls pushed through for the win.”
Brenna Goodloe finished with five kills and two blocks.
Clear Lake def. St. Helena
At Lakeport, after struggling through the preseason, the Clear Lake Cardinals worked over the St. Helena Saints, 25-17, 25-12, 25-23, in their league opener.
Leading the way were Aniya Jauregui, who served seven straight aces in the second set to give the Cardinals (1-0) a substantial lead, and Atiana Patino, who came up with six crucial digs in the third set to rally Clear Lake from a seven-point deficit. In addition to her serving prowess, Jauregui also closed out the second set with five kills.
Clear Lake head coach Izzy Short also praised the play of Violet Stewart.
The Cardinals beat St. Helena 25-21, 18-25, 15-12 in JV action behind six kills from Kiara Hopkins.
“All the girls showed up and played their game,” Short said.
Clear Lake’s teams return to the court Thursday in Upper Lake beginning at 5 p.m.
