Middletown JV, varsity volleyball teams sweep league matches at Upper Lake
UPPER LAKE >> It was quite the 24 hours for the Middletown High School varsity volleyball team, which had its former head coach, Norberto Quiroz, resign on Wednesday, midway through his first season as the Mustangs’ skipper.
With junior varsity head coach Erika Galvan assuming control of both teams on Thursday, Middletown didn’t miss a beat, sweeping both the JV and varsity matches in North Central League I action at Upper Lake High School. The JV Mustangs improved to 4-2 in league play with a 25-12, 25-18 win over the Cougars while the varsity rolled past Upper Lake 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 behind 32 assists, eight service points and four aces from Isa Barnes, and 11 kills, 17 digs, 13 service points and two aces from Mia Hoogendoorn.
“The girls were very upbeat tonight,” Galvan said. “Their positive attitudes helped seal the win. They played very well together.”
Quiroz, a veteran coach, announced his resignation on Wednesday, a little more than 12 hours after Middletown lost in five sets at St. Helena. In an email to Lake County Sports late Wednesday morning, Quiroz cited “philosophical and management difference” as the reasons for his resignation. Middletown was 2-3 in league and 13-7 overall under Quiroz.
Middletown is now 3-3 in league and 14-7 overall.
Galvan said she would be coaching the varsity the remainder of the 2024 season.
Makayla Mace added 10 kills, 10 digs and nine service points in the win while Carly Johnson had eight kills and two blocks.
Owing to renovations at its gym, Middletown hasn’t played a home match yet this season. The Mustangs were scheduled to host Clear Lake on Tuesday, but the gym won’t be ready in time, so they’ll play at Lakeport. The first home match is now set for Thursday against league-leading Cloverdale.
While the Mustangs jumped back on their feet Thursday, the Upper Lake Cougars (1-6) continued to struggle, according to head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson.
“I hope we can put this one behind us,” Gudmundson said. “We leave tomorrow (Saturday) for our tournament in (Brookings) Oregon and I hope we can find that fighting spirit we had at the beginning of the season that we have seem to have lost over the last couple weeks.”
Added Gudmundson on the loss to Middletown, “It was evident from the beginning to the end that our minds were elsewhere tonight. We lost our fighting spirit, our voice, and the enjoyment of the game. Even when we were in the lead or tied for half of the second and third sets, we just weren’t mentally present in the game, and it cost us.”
Aimee Schaefers led the Cougars with five kills and also had five digs. Alyssa John had a team-best seven digs to go along with five kills and two blocks.
The Cougars return home Tuesday to play St. Helena (4-2). JV action begins at 5 p.m.
Junior varsity
Samantha Maccario, the Middletown libero, recorded 10 digs along with nine service points, four of them aces, in the JV win over Upper Lake.
“She kept the even tone for the team while we tried out some new things,” Galvan said of Maccario.
Izzi Hoogendoorn had a team-best four kills while Bridget Lisenbee had a team-high 11 assists.
“I’m very proud of how both teams played tonight,” Galvan said.
Upper Lake individual statistics weren’t reported.
