Making the short trip to Oakdale for the annual round robin preseason scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 15, it was a satisfying day for the Escalon volleyball program.

The GEBO scrimmage, as it has been known for years, features Golden Valley of Merced, Escalon, Beyer of Modesto, and Oakdale, with each squad taking on the others at all three levels in the round robin event. Varsity was on the court first, followed by the JV and then the freshmen.

“Varsity did very well overall,” said first-year varsity head coach Stephanie Ceja. “Our first match against Golden Valley wasn’t as smooth as we would’ve liked it to be. We were still working out the kinks, but against Beyer and Oakdale our girls really came together and dominated.”

Ceja said standouts for the scrimmage included senior setter Aniston Hunt, junior hitters Arie Paulsen and Emma Strong, along with senior libero Brynn Caton.

“They are a really fun group to coach,” Ceja added of the varsity girls.

At the JV level, Ceja said the team did very well, showing up both offensively and defensively throughout their three scrimmages. Returning to lead the JV team is head coach Alyssa Cogburn.

“They don’t have a true setter on their team this year so both Aubrey Anderson and Alaina Mancilla are stepping up in a huge way by filling the setter role,” noted Ceja. “Lainie Harris and Kinsley Villines are going to be the backbones of the team.”

With a brand new head coach, Mya Scott, taking over at the freshman level, Ceja said they saw some good things from the youngest Lady Cougars as well.

“They spent the scrimmages working with new lineups and finding what worked best for their squad,” Ceja said. “Setter Brooklyn Karp, hitter Evelynn Strong and libero Paitynn Russell led the team in all three matches.”