Escalon’s varsity volleyball girls split their games this past week, first losing on the road but then capping a successful Senior Night as they swept past visiting Orestimba for a league win.
On the road to start the week, it was a four-set loss to Ripon for the Lady Cougars on Oct. 21.
“They are a very talented team so we are so proud of our girls for taking a set off of them,” head coach Shay Beam said. “They battled where they could.”
Escalon took the first set, 25-23, but then fell in the next three, 12-25, 16-25, 9-25, for the 3-1 Trans-Valley League loss.
Emma Strong had eight kills, Chloe Green added seven.
“Setter Aniston Hunt did a great job spreading out her sets,” noted Beam. “Middle Marissa Terry had five kills and our other middle Peyton Houser Keaton had four kills. Marissa also had two great blocks at the net along with freshman Avery Bartelink. At the back line, Bartelink also had three aces.”
Thursday night, Oct. 23, the team was back at home and it was Senior Night for the Lady Cougars.
“We honored our four seniors, Marissa Terry, Chloe Green, Emma Rangel and Skyler Owings,” Beam said. “We walked away with a great team win, closing out a very tough TVL.”
The varsity girls won in straight sets, 25-13, 25-19, 25-14.
Hunt and Owings had four aces each, while Strong dominated with 14 kills. Houser Keaton added six kills, Green had five.
“Aniston was aggressive with the ball as well, having four kills and 17 assists,” said Beam. “The playoff bracket was announced Friday and we were seeded fourth, which is just a testament to how resilient and hard working these girls have been.”
The varsity squad, the four seed in Division 4, faced off on their home court against the number 13 Liberty Ranch team on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., taking a 3-0 win in the opening round. That puts the varsity girls in to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Oct. 30 with a 6 p.m. start time, hosting El Dorado, the number five seed, a 3-0 winner on Oct. 28 against number 12 seed Central Catholic.
The varsity girls went 5-7 in league play and ended the regular season at 14-14 overall.
JV/Freshmen
It was a two win week for the JV girls, as they wrapped up their season.
At Ripon for an Oct. 21 match, the Escalon JV team won 25-13, 17-25, 15-7.
“Lainie Harris had four aces, Peyton Jacobs had 15 assists,” said head coach Alyssa Cogburn. “Ronni Keo had six kills and two blocks; Allie Fiser had 10 digs.”
Thursday at home, the JV topped Orestimba in two, 25-3, 25-7. Jacobs had five aces and 13 assists to lead the team. Kinsley Villines had five kills and Fiser had four digs.
“I’m so proud of the girls this season,” said Cogburn. “Quite a few of them had to play positions they weren’t comfortable in and they went in with an open mind and gave it their all.”
The JV girls went 8-4 in TVL action and put together an outstanding 16-6 overall record.
“They pushed themselves to be better while making this season so much fun for themselves and me,” Cogburn said.
With just one game on their schedule for the week, the freshman girls went on the road for the win.
They dropped the first set to Ripon in the Tuesday match, 22-25, but then came back to win the next two, 25-19, 15-12, to capture a victory in their season finale.
“Aubrey (Anderson Castro) played a great game with six aces, five assists and 10 digs,” said head coach Nicole Bianchi. “Ryan (Killingsworth) also had 10 digs with her best serve receive of the season.”
Sandi Rowe had a strong match as well with five aces and five assists.
“We came out a little rough in the first set, but the team was able to pick themselves up and take the next two sets,” Bianchi added.
Overall, the frosh girls were 6-4 in TVL play and went 12-8 overall.
“This group of players had a long season with a very short roster. We went through many lineup changes with multiple players playing new positions and having to learn a different skill set,” the coach said. “This team really made the most of what was in front of them and I am very happy and proud of what they accomplished. They will continue to be successful athletes on the path ahead of them.”
