Escalon’s varsity girls volleyball team has taken to the road – and come away with impressive wins.

They opened up play in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs at Bear River in Grass Valley on Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31. The number six seed Bear River team found the 11th seeded Lady Cougars more than they could handle. Games were close but the visiting squad came away with a 3-0 win, Escalon taking the contest in a sweep, 25-16, 26-24, 25-23.

That win put them back on the road Thursday, as they headed to face off with number three seed Calaveras. Again, it was a clean sweep for Escalon, taking down Calaveras in scores of 25-23, 25-17, 25-16.

“My team has decided to come together and play as one at the perfect time,” head coach Teresa Williamson said. “Tiana Lopez, Tess Cosby, Meadow Naraghi and Madisyn Widmer are playing out of their minds defensively, Brielle Arauza is mixing up her sets very well and Leila Phillps, Peyton Arnold and Melanie Smith are leading the defense at the net with their blocking.”

Stepping up their offensive game to lead the team so far in the playoffs are Hannah Murphy, Mya Beary, Kaitlyn Herrera and Hunter Wheeler.

“Hannah Boyd, who was pulled up from the JV team for the playoffs, has immediately picked up the pace and mindset of this team and continues to thrive,” Williamson added.

The Lady Cougars, by virtue of their win over Calaveras, qualified for the NorCals. They also were scheduled to continue their playoff run on the road, traveling to number two seed Bret Harte on Tuesday, Nov. 7 for a 7 p.m. contest, after The Times went to press.

Bret Harte reached the semifinals with an opening round 3-0 win over No. 15 Venture Academy and a quarterfinal victory, 3-2, over number seven seed Vacaville Christian.

The winner of Tuesday’s game advances to the Section final against the winner of the Hilmar (top seed) and Union Mine (fourth seed) semifinal contest on the other side of the bracket. The final is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 11 – time and place to be announced.