First round and quarterfinal action on the volleyball court saw Escalon’s varsity girls dispatch Marysville and Dixon.
Escalon entered the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs as the top seed, having completed a perfect 10-0 league campaign and capturing the Trans-Valley League title.
Marysville won a play in game on Oct. 25, defeating Encina Prep by a 3-0 final, 25-7, 25-15, 25-12. That gave Marysville the opportunity to travel to Escalon for a Tuesday, Oct. 26 match and the Lady Cougars wasted no time in sending Marysville back to the bus for a long ride home. They swept their opening round opponent, 25-10, 25-8, 25-11.
“The girls came out on fire against Marysville and controlled the game the entire match,” said head coach Teresa Williamson.
Assists leaders were Rylie Lattig with 15, Carsyn Hood with 14. Emily Vickers notched 12 kills; Mandy Murphy had 11; Bella Cormack added eight; Gianna Bava and Leah Wheeler both had three kills.
Lattig also had 11 digs on the night; Haylee Barajas added nine; Faye Hernandez notched six. Cormack came up big at the net with six blocks. Murphy served up four aces; Gianna Bava and Madellyn Spurgeon had three aces each.
Thursday night, Oct. 28 the Lady Cougars welcomed No. 8 seed Dixon, which was a first round winner over No. 9 Colfax, 3-1.
Even though it was a little bit of a tougher match than the Tuesday competition, Escalon nonetheless got the 3-0 sweep of the visiting Rams. Scores were 25-19, 25-16, 25-15.
“We did play a little relaxed in the beginning of our Dixon match and played flat, just going through the motion of the game,” admitted Williamson. “We picked it up towards the end and got back to our old ways.”
It was a busy night for Lattig with 25 assists; Murphy and Vickers took care of business with 12 kills each. Vickers also added 12 digs and four aces in an all-around performance. Grace Ferreira had 10 digs in the win and Murphy added eight. Cormack registered three blocks; Murphy served up three aces.
“When these girls play with passion and fire, we are unstoppable,” added Williamson. “I know we will see that in this next match against Western Sierra Collegiate Academy of Rocklin.”
That match, the D4 semifinal, was scheduled on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at Escalon High School after The Times went to press. Look for an update online; a win in the semifinals would put Escalon into the Section final, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 seed Ripon was scheduled to travel to face off with No. 2 Sonora in the Nov. 2 semifinals.
