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League Champion Varsity Volleyball Girls Head To Playoffs
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Offering some instruction during a time out earlier this season, volleyball head coach Teresa Williamson will take the Escalon varsity Lady Cougars into the playoffs, going in as the top seed in Division 3 and looking for another Sac-Joaquin Section title. Marg Jackson/The Times

UPDATE: Escalon swept Pioneer 3-0 in the opening round on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and hosts Nevada Union in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.


Completing the regular season with an overall record of 29-1, the Escalon varsity volleyball girls also crafted a perfect 12-0 mark in Trans-Valley League action, claiming the TVL title.

They won their last three league games in shutout fashion, sweeping Hughson, Ripon and Livingston, 3-0.

Against Hughson, they were 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 winners with Rylie Lattig pacing the team, notching 23 assists, nine digs, two aces and three blocks on the night.

Gianna Bava stepped up with a big match as well, nine kills, five digs, four aces and one block. Emily Vickers added seven kills while Lisa Murga and Carsyn Hood each had four kills.

Escalon also shut out Ripon with scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-14. Emily Vickers had 10 kills, 12 digs, two blocks and two aces; Lattig had 23 assists on the night to go along with six digs and two blocks.

Against Livingston, scores were 25-16, 25-18, 25-17. Emily Vickers had 14 kills on the night, Lattig had 31 assists. Bava and Hood both had six kills; Murga recorded five kills and five blocks.

Escalon goes in to the Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs as the top seed in Division 3, after having claimed the last two Division 4 Section crowns. They were scheduled to open up the postseason at home on Tuesday, Oct. 25 after The Times went to press, hosting the winner of a Monday night play-in game, featuring Pacheco vs. Pioneer.

“I feel like the girls are mentally and physically ready, and I look forward to them playing well,” said head coach Teresa Williamson. “This is a great team to be playing Division 3 volleyball with. We are very strong offensively as well as defensively. And we have great leadership on the court.”

A win on Tuesday would see the girls back in action on Thursday night, Oct. 27 on the home court for quarterfinal play, hosting the winner of the Beyer-Nevada Union first round match.

“We know the road is going to be tough, and we are definitely ready,” said Williamson.

 

JV/FRESHMEN

For the JV girls, they closed out their campaign with a loss to Ripon and wins over Livingston and Hughson.

They fell to Ripon in two, 20-25, 20-25.

“Freshman middle Marina Franzia had a good game with four kills, Chloe Fraser had three and Mady Herrera had four kills as well,” said head coach Shay Beam.

Against Livingston, the girls took a 25-22, 25-6 victory.

“We had a lack of focus in that first set,” Beam noted. “The second set we served tough.”

Lexi Briggs had five aces and two digs; setter Karisa McNeil had two aces, two kills, three digs and 12 assists. Natalie Giuntoli had four digs, Ashlee Conde and Marissa Terry had three kills each, while Herrera added five kills and two aces.

Their final game of the season was on the road at Hughson and was a 25-13, 25-14 win.

“We ended up second in league behind Ripon,” Beam said of the successful campaign. “Moving on to playoffs, setter Karisa McNeil has been pulled up to finish the season with the varsity team. It’ll be a great experience for her and get her ready for next year.”

The freshmen, under head coach Morgan Gomez, crafted a 2-1 win in their season finale at Hughson.

“We started off slow and were really challenged in the second game with a different lineup, but we were able to mentally focus and pull out a win,” the coach said. “In the third game we had a game-winning back row attack from Madison Babasa.”