Lady Cougar squads have continued to stay busy during the preseason, with more action on their calendar this past week.

Good outcomes were seen for the varsity and freshman squads, while the JV girls didn’t get a win but gained some valuable experience.

Here is a brief recap of the volleyball action.

VARSITY

Taking on Enochs on the road Friday, the varsity girls took a 3-1 victory.

“We have had a great start to our season,” said coach Teresa Williamson.

Scores against Enochs saw Escalon take the first two, 25-14, 25-15, with the host team coming back for a 17-25 win in the third. Escalon closed it out with a 25-15 decision.

Hannah Boyd had 36 assists with 11 kills from Mandy Murphy and 10 from Melanie Smith, who also added four blocks. Tess Cosby had 27 digs on the night. Murphy and Meadow Naraghi added three aces apiece in the win.

Saturday saw the varsity girls only head to the Orestimba Tournament where they won three out of their four matches. They shut out Madera, Mariposa and Turlock Christian, 2-0, and lost a hard-fought 2-1 contest to Liberty.

“We had solid serving and passing all day. Hannah Boyd really mixed her set up and moved the ball around well,” Williamson noted. “These girls really stepped it up and played some great volleyball.”

JUNIOR VARSITY

Enochs got the better of Escalon’s JV girls but head coach Krystal Rodriguez said her team did put up a fight.

“We took the first set 25-15 and they took the second 28-30 and the third set they took 10-15,” Rodriguez explained. “The team is working hard on finding our groove but once they do they’re going to do great things.”

Despite taking the loss, the coach said a win in the first set and the hard fought sets in the next two did show her a little bit of what her team is made of.

“They showed a lot of their potential on Friday. I was happy to see them play hard,” Rodriguez said. “I have a few players who turned on and I now know they’re ‘game’ players.

“We’re going to be working hard this week. I can’t wait to see them at home Wednesday and Thursday.”

FRESHMEN

Against Enochs on Friday night, the youngest Lady Cougars crafted a 2-0 win.

“The first set we won 25-21 and the second set we won 25-18,” explained first-year head coach Nicole Bianchi. “Both sets were close, however, our serving and aggressiveness at the net is what pulled us ahead from Enochs.”

Matty Bollen achieved three kills in five attempts. Grace Ferreira also had three kills. The frosh girls had nine aces throughout the game and Madison Hagglund led the squad with eight total digs.

“The team had good energy on the court and are beginning to mesh well with each other to create a competitive team dynamic,” Bianchi said.

All three squads host St. Mary’s on Wednesday, Aug. 22 starting with the freshman game at 4:30 p.m. and the JV and varsity will be on the court Thursday, Aug. 23 at home against Ripon Christian with the JV game starting at 5:30 p.m.