{"id":4257,"date":"2025-10-08T21:38:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=4257"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:38:47","slug":"red-hot-cougars-dig-pink-beat-cardinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/?p=4257","title":{"rendered":"Red-hot Cougars Dig Pink, beat Cardinals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Knights sweep Mustangs to remain undefeated atop league standings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lake County Sports on Facebook<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPPER LAKE >> The Cougars obviously Dig Pink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decked out in their special pink uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness, Upper Lake\u2019s varsity volleyball players posted their third straight North Central League I match Tuesday night, taking down the Clear Lake Cardinals in a competitive three-set match, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they did Thursday in a three-set victory at home against Fort Bragg, Upper Lake (4-5) avenged a loss to a team it had fallen to in the first round of league play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTonight\u2019s Dig Pink game was one for the books,\u201d Upper Lake head coach Dani Paige Gudmundson said. \u201cThe gym was completely covered in pink, and the energy from both teams and our fans was incredible. Our program put together breast cancer awareness goodies for both teams, which made the night even more special and meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Lake (2-7) didn\u2019t go quietly, according to Gudmundson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClear Lake came ready to play, and it was a battle from the first serve to the final point,\u201d Gudmundson said. \u201cWe had some great rallies. It was point for point most of the night. They\u2019d get ahead, we\u2019d fight right back, and the crowd was into every minute of it. Even though the match ended in three (sets), they were all close games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had moments where we showed what we\u2019re capable of,\u201d Clear Lake head coach Izzy Bonilla said. \u201cStrong plays, good communication and solid effort. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t stay consistent when it mattered most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camila Martin had a strong overall night for the Cougars with 16 assists, seven service points, six digs and three kills, as did Alyssa John with 13 service points, four aces, 15 digs, eight kills and three blocks. Aimee Schaefers added eight kills, six blocks, five service points, eight digs and one assist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of how our girls fought through the tight moments and kept their composure,\u201d Gudmundson said. \u201cWe still have a few things to tighten up before we head to Cloverdale on Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith McIntire\u2019s 10 kills, five blocks and eight aces led the Cardinals, Ashlynn Cruz had 17 digs, and Lindee Bingham added six kills. Also for Clear Lake, Atiana Patino finished with 12 digs while Aniya Jauregui had 25 assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Lake is on the road Thursday to play Fort Bragg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In junior varsity action Tuesday, Upper Lake beat Clear Lake 27-25, 25-22, improving to 5-4 in the NCL I standings as Clear Lake slipped to 2-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe girls worked together and fought until the end,\u201d Upper Lake head coach Fawn Rave said. \u201cNot our prettiest two sets, but they didn\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordyn Parker led the team with five kills and also had nine digs, two blocks and two aces. Lizzie Fernandez added four kills and a block. Other Upper Lake leaders were Kenzie Foley with 13 digs, two kills, two aces and one assist, and Kylee Solorio with seven assists, six digs and one ace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe struggled with serving tonight, and usually that\u2019s not a place I have to worry about,\u201d Rave said. \u201cAll around proud of the girls tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Lake statistics were not available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other NCL I action Tuesday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville def. Middletown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Middletown, the Kelseyville Knights improved to a league-best 9-0 with a 25-10, 25-19, 25-22 victory over the Middletown Mustangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelseyville, a winner of 16 straight league matches dating back to last season when the Knights won the undisputed NCL I title, played a nearly flawless first set, according to head coach Donelle McCallister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur first set was almost flawless in terms of very few errors in attacks and serves,\u201d McCallister said. \u201cSets two and three the girls got a little off kilter and began making more hitting errors and serving errors than needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An exception for the Knights was sophomore Riley Hanson, who had only one hitting error on 34 arm swings. She had a team-best 17 kills and finished with an outstanding .444 hitting average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDue to illness, I was down to seven players again, and the girls did a phenomenal job stepping up and working together,\u201d Middletown head coach Erika Galvan said. \u201cThey kept their energy up throughout the entire game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown middle hitters Carly Johnson (nine kills) and Harley Holley (five kills, two blocks) both played a strong match, according to Galvan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth the senior middles had some great swings and aggressive play at the net,\u201d Galvan said. \u201cThey definitely kept fighting throughout play. Harley had some hard swings and was very aggressive during the third set that kept us in it. Carly was getting some good shots in throughout the sets as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Galvan, \u201cOur passing was much better this time around (compared to the first meeting last month in Kelseyville).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides Hanson, Kelseyville leaders were Maddy Borghesani with 24 assists, Ashlyn Wurm with 20 digs, Bella Patti with 18 digs and three aces, and Jordyn Wurm with six kills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShout out to Jordyn Wurm who is making some great defensive plays at the net,\u201d McCallister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Middletown leaders were Trinity Galvan with 17 digs, seven service points, three assists and two kills, Jordyn Harbison with 15 digs, five service points and one kill, and Bridget Lisenbee with 11 assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown hosts Lower Lake on Thursday while Kelseyville returns home to play St. Helena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a first-place battle in JV action, Kelseyville (9-0) moved two games ahead of Middletown (7-2) in the league standings with a hard-fought 27-25, 25-22 win. The Mustangs could have moved into a tie for first place with a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe girls kept their heads in the game even when they were down by as many as seven points,\u201d McCallister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Knights weren\u2019t at full strength with Lilly Hamel (ankle) out of action and starter Grace Peterson nursing some sore wisdom teeth that are scheduled to come out next week. Peterson led the Knights with 28 digs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a battle,\u201d Middletown head coach Vanessa Davis said. \u201cEvery point was beautiful, aggressive volleyball. I love watching both of these teams play. The Tallman gym was full of excitement and life again brought on by these tremendous athletes, amazing plays and effort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middletown leaders were outside hitters Emma Davis (12 kills, seven kills, three service points, two aces) and Emma Jones (four kills, four digs, four service points and one ace). Also for the Mustangs, setter Hannah Tribby finished with 11 assists, eight service points, two aces and three kills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough we lost, I could not be prouder of the way we played,\u201d Davis said. \u201cEvery point fueled with heart and grit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kelseyville, Brooklyn Young finished with 15 assists and three aces, Paelynn Beall led the team with 11 kills, and Aubree Sperber had four kills on only seven arm swings, plus one \u201ccrucial block,\u201d according to McCallister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Bragg def. Lower Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans fell behind two sets to none but ended up going the full five sets with the Fort Bragg Timberwolves, eventually falling 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 15-10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake (0-9) threw a huge scare Fort Bragg\u2019s way even minus two starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe lost one to grades and the other was on vacation,\u201d Lower Lake head coach Vikki Poni said. \u201cI\u2019m very happy with the seven who showed up. The ones who showed up played their hearts out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team leaders were Khaya Chaney, Leticia Sorrells and Brooke Watson, according to Poni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose three pulled up the team,\u201d Poni said. \u201cLots of team members did something special tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake, a bit rusty coming into the match, recovered from a slow start to take the third and fourth sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had gone five days without a practice,\u201d said Poni, who said she is still recovering from an illness that has kept her in bed for most of the past week. \u201cI\u2019m still not 100 percent yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Bragg snapped a two-match losing streak and improved to 6-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Bragg won the JV match 25-22, 25-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower Lake hits the road Thursday to play Middletown, Poni\u2019s alma mater. Action begins with the JV match at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knights sweep Mustangs to remain undefeated atop league standings Lake County Sports on Facebook UPPER LAKE >> The Cougars obviously Dig Pink. Decked out in their special pink uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness, Upper Lake\u2019s varsity volleyball players posted their third straight North Central League I match Tuesday night, taking down the Clear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,58,47,86,17,18,19,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4259,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257\/revisions\/4259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briansumptersports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}