Some wins, some losses – and a golf match that went to the fourth tiebreaker – filled up the sports schedule for several Escalon sports teams this past week. Here is a look at the action.
VOLLEYBALL
Winning on the road, Escalon’s varsity volleyball girls then lost at home, going 1-1 in Trans-Valley League play for the week.
“We traveled to Orestimba for the last game of the first round of league and we won in three sets,” head coach Shay Beam said of the Sept. 30 match.
Scores were competitive, but Escalon won in the sweep, 25-20, 25-13, 25-21.
“We were able to run a few different lineups and work on some plays so that was good for us,” Beam noted.
Emma Strong had 10 kills while setter Aniston Hunt had seven kills and 18 assists. Hunt and Avery Bartelink also had four aces apiece and Brynn Caton added 17 digs.
“Thursday (Oct. 2) we played Sonora for the second time and it was our ‘Dig Pink’ night for breast cancer awareness,” the coach said. “We didn’t play very well the first time we saw Sonora so we were excited for another match up.”
But the visitors took the contest in straight sets, the host Lady Cougars falling 22-25, 22-25, 14-25.
“Unfortunately, we did not walk away with the victory but the girls did play better in sets one and two,” explained Beam. “Our back row struggled a little bit so this week we will work on serve receive and defense.”
Outsides, Chloe Green and Emma Strong, had 11 and nine kills respectively. Hunt had 28 assists and libero Caton had 14 digs.
“Our middles and right sides did a great job at the net blocking and slowing down the ball,” Beam added. “Marissa Terry had three blocks, Payton Houser Keaton had two blocks and Avery Bartelink had three blocks as well.”
Games this week are on the road, at Hughson and Hilmar.
JV/FRESHMEN
In a successful week for the JV girls, they swept to a pair of TVL wins. They beat Orestimba 25-6, 25-8 on the road and then defeated Sonora at home, 25-22, 26-24.
In the Orestimba game, Peyton Jacobs had 12 aces and nine assists, Kinsley Villines had seven digs and Kendall Fox had three digs.
In the win over Sonora, Ronni Keo had two aces while Jacobs had 17 assists.
“Lainie Harris led with seven kills; she just moved up from the freshman team,” JV head coach Alyssa Cogburn said.
Villines had 15 digs in the Thursday night victory.
“I’m really proud of the girls this week,” Cogburn said. “They played consistent and worked very hard against Sonora. It has been my favorite game to coach so far this season. I’m proud of how hard they pushed themselves and each other to get the win.”
The freshman girls took a loss against Sonora on Oct. 2, with scores of 25-19, 8-25, 7-15.
“The girls played great after having to adjust our line up right before the game,” said head coach Nicole Bianchi. “These players can handle anything that’s thrown at them.”
The frosh squad then traveled to play in the Orestimba Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 4 and took second place overall.
“We beat River Islands, Calaveras, and Pitman, all in three sets,” said Bianchi. “Then we lost to Ripon Christian in two sets in the championship game. The team played so well and with only seven of our players; these girls are tough”
FLAG FOOTBALL
It was a tough week on the football field for the Lady Cougars, as both the varsity and JV girls suffered a pair of losses.
For the varsity girls, they fell to Orestimba 26-6 and then were unable to get any points on the board against Hughson, losing that contest by a 14-0 final.
“Reagan Baker played hard on both sides of the ball against Orestimba,” explained coach Lisa Luis. “Jasmine Barron had a 20-yard catch from Bretta Brooks.”
The team struggled offensively against Hughson in another TVL game, but the defense for the Lady Cougars had some bright spots.
“Yaya Marsellis, Rachelle Barker, Kenadie Baker and Tyli Holback all played well,” Luis said.
The JV team was shut out by Orestimba, 12-0 and fell in a close contest to Hughson, 13-6.
“Too many mistakes on both sides of the ball, in both games,” said Luis. “Miley Krieger had a pick-six against Hughson.”
GOLF
Escalon’s Lady Cougars played in the Yellowjacket Invitational hosted at Turlock Golf and Country Club on Sept. 29 to start their week.
“There were 22 schools at the tournament. It was an 18-hole tournament in which teams bring five golfers and count the top four for the team score,” explained head coach Chris Casazza. “Our team placed 12th out of the 22 teams.”
Top four for Escalon were Lizzy Allan, 86; Mia Fernandes, 110; Taylor Bruns, 118; Areli Herrera, 119. Not in the top four was Olivia Aceves, carding a 120 on the day.
Allan placed third overall in the tournament, out of more than 100 golfers taking part.
“We were very proud of her,” said Casazza. “She had an excellent round of golf, and the best part is she had fun doing it.”
On Sept. 30, Escalon hosted Ripon Christian at River Oaks Golf Course for a league match.
“We were really hoping to get a win in this match,” the coach said. “Last time we played RC, we lost by a handful of strokes. We set a team goal of 165 strokes.”
Top four for Escalon were Allan, 35; Samantha Bruns, 39; Taylor Bruns and Herrera, 41 each. Not in the top four were Fernandes, 45; and Aceves, 50.
“After finishing the round, both teams were tied, 156-156,” Casazza said.
That put it to tiebreakers, and the first was to look to each team’s fifth best score; both Escalon and RC had a golfer at 45. The second tiebreaker was the sixth golfer; the teams had identical 50s in that position.
A third tiebreaker also, almost unbelievably, was a tie and, in the fourth tiebreaker, Ripon Chrsitan had a lower team score, ultimately edging out Escalon for the victory.
“It was an amazing match. I’ve never seen anything like it when scoring a high school match. To be so tied to have to go to the fourth tiebreaker was incredible,” Casazza explained. “I was still very proud of the girls. We were better than our team goal by nine strokes. There was nothing to be ashamed of. They walked away with their heads held high because they know they put together an amazing team score, but RC just kind of got the luck of the draw with that fourth tiebreaker.”
The JV girls were to get on the course this week for a match against RC; the varsity squad was scheduled to play at Hughson and Ripon.
CROSS COUNTRY
There wasn’t any scheduled league or invitational action for the cross country Cougars this past week, but they did get to enjoy a little bit of time training together in Santa Cruz on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“We went to Natural Bridges State Beach and enjoyed a picturesque run with some good team bonding time afterwards,” said head coach Arend Jones.
Next up for the Cougars will be the Hughson Supercross event.
