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Sweep For Varsity Volleyball; JV, Freshmen Split Matches
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In action during a Trans-Valley League varsity volleyball game, Escalon’s Lisa Murga, 9, reaches up to drop the ball over a Riverbank defender. The Lady Cougars won the match, 3-0. Times Photo By Ric McGinnis

At home and on the road, the Escalon varsity volleyball girls continue to put wins on the board.

They captured a pair of 3-0 victories this past week, taking down Trans-Valley League opponents Riverbank and Ripon.

Against visiting Riverbank, it was a 25-3, 25-14, 25-7 straight sets win.

Helping pace the effort were Sophia Martin with eight kills, Gianna Bava and Claire Barkus with six kills each and Madison Smith added three.

“Rylie Lattig had six aces and 31 assists, Faye Hernandez had six digs,” noted head coach Teresa Williamson.

At Ripon later on in the week, in the notoriously tough Indian lair to compete in, Williamson said her team stepped it up and were loudly supported by a crowd that traveled to cheer them on.

The match went just three sets but each was a nailbiter, the Lady Cougars prevailing 25-22, 25-23, 25-23.

“The Ripon match was a great match,” Williamson enthused. “It is always tough to play at Ripon High. They are a great program and Casey is a great coach.”

Lattig was stoic once again with 34 assists and five digs, Emily Vickers put together a strong night with 16 kills, three aces and 10 digs. Bava had eight kills and two blocks, Lisa Murga made her presence felt with six kills and three blocks, and Faye Hernandez had 17 digs.

“Our girls played out of their minds. We made some errors; however, it was their hard work and perseverance that made us successful,” Williamson said of her team. “I would like to say ‘thank you’ to our fans. They were great and gave my girls so much energy! They were just as fired up as our girls were.”

 

JV

Hosting Riverbank, the Sept. 12 contest was a 2-0 win for Escalon’s JV volleyball girls.

“The game was slower paced but we got to run a more aggressive offense and set our middles a bit more,” explained head coach Shay Beam. “The game was won in two sets, 25-10, 25-10.”

Setter Karisa McNeil had five aces, 11 assists and three digs; outsides Madyson Herrera had five kills and three aces and Chloe Fraser had four kills and three aces.

“Two of my middles, Alondra Gonzales and Marissa Terry had two kills apiece.”

Wednesday, Sept 14 the girls headed out on the road to face off with Ripon.

“It’s always a high-pressure game that you want to win when playing the Indians,” Beam said. “Unfortunately, we started too slow in set one and two and made too many mistakes to bounce back.”

The first set was a 23-25 loss for Escalon while they battled the host team to a 26-28 final in set two, losing 2-0.

“In the second set we played a little bit better and fought hard at the end but it was too late,” admitted Beam. “A few callouts in this match, our blocking was strong; we had one each for outsides Madyson and Chloe and one block each for middles Marissa Terry and Alondra.”

The defense also stepped up with seven digs from both Mady and Natalie while Riley Ogilvie added five and Karissa had four. Ashlee Conde had three kills, Mady four and Chloe five.

“We play Ripon one more time in October and I’m confident we can have a different outcome,” Beam said.

 

FRESHMEN

The youngest Lady Cougars had a busy week. They started off with a home game against Riverbank and got the win, 25-15, 25-11. They went on the road to Ripon and fell to the host team there, then took part in the Stockton Classic Tournament.

“We placed third at Linden, beating McNair and Summerville in our pool,” explained head coach Morgan Gomez of the tournament appearance. “Then we lost to Enochs in our bracket play and battled Linden for third.”

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Escalon’s Kendra Gwartney, 2, serves up the ball in TVL varsity girls volleyball action on the Lady Cougars’ home court, on Monday, Sept. 12. EHS finished the match on top, 3-0, getting the sweep over the visiting Riverbank Lady Bruins. Times Photo By Ric McGinnis