Upper Lake varsity volleyball team beats Lower Lake in three sets
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LOWER LAKE >> Something had to give and something finally did on Tuesday night as the Lower Lake Trojans and Upper Lake Cougars, schools looking for their first North Central League I volleyball win at both the varsity and junior varsity levels, squared off in Lower Lake.
Upper Lake won the varsity match 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 while Lower Lake took the junior varsity match 25-23, 25-19.
Varsity
“We finally secured our first win in the league, and it felt amazing,” Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. “Although the sets were closer than we would have preferred, we managed to pull through in the end. I’m incredibly proud of the team. We have a busy week of volleyball ahead of us, and I hope we can maintain this level of play and feeling of victory into Thursday.”
Several Cougars turned in solid outings, including Hope Marcks (10 assists, nine service points), Aimee Schaefers (11 kills, three blocks), Alyssa John (10 kills, five aces), Angelina Rivera (five kills, three blocks, nine service points) and Camila Martin (15 assists).
“We’re getting so close to the win column, we just can’t get past the little things that are keeping us from getting over that hump,” Lower Lake head coach Shannon Tubbs said. “Jamiya Lee-Ayers (five kills, six blocks) played another good game on the net tonight, and Leanna Ortega had a heck of a game serving tonight.”
Ortega served eight straight points in the third set to cut an Upper Lake lead from 24-15 to 24-23. She also led the team with six digs and tied teammate Brooke Benson for most aces with four.
Upper Lake is now 1-5 in the league standings while Lower Lake falls to 0-5.
Upper Lake returns home Thursday to play Middletown (2-3) while Lower Lake travels to Clear Lake (2-3). JV matches at both locations begin at 5 p.m.
Junior varsity
Kenzie Foley led the Cougars (0-6) with seven assists and four aces while also adding six service points. Abigail Suzor had a team-best nine service points to go along with three kills, two blocks and three aces.
Lower Lake statistics were not reported. The Trojans are now 1-4 in league play.
