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Volleyball Girls Sweep First Two Playoff Opponents
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Varsity players celebrate a point during their final regular season home game, just prior to starting the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. The girls won at home and on the road in the first two rounds, defeating Summerville and Linden. Marg Jackson/The Times
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Libero Tess Cosby digs out the ball in recent action on the volleyball court. Escalon went into the Division IV playoffs as the No. 6 seed and got wins in their first and second round contests. Marg Jackson/The Times

Heading into the Sac-Joaquin Section volleyball playoffs as the No. 6 seed in Division IV, Escalon’s varsity girls were victorious in their first two rounds of competition.

The girls hosted an opening round playoff game on Tuesday, Oct. 23 and welcomed No. 11 seed Summerville into the Cougar gym. They made quick work of their opponents, sweeping them in three sets. Scores were 25-15, 25-8, 25-19.

“Mandy Murphy had nine kills and Meadow Naraghi had eight,” said head coach Teresa Williamson.

Naraghi added four aces, with one block each from Leila Phillips and Sage Davis. Tess Cosby contributed 19 digs and Hannah Boyd had 21 assists on the night.

Two days later, the girls had to hit the road to face off against host Linden, which came into the playoffs as the third seed.

Again, it was a sweep for the Lady Cougar, as they seem to have hit their stride in the postseason.

The games were tighter, but Escalon won 25-23, 25-22, 25-22.

Murphy had a big night with 15 kills and both Naraghi and Boyd had three aces. Melanie Smith added three blocks.

Cosby had 27 digs in a busy night and Boyd set things up for the varsity squad with 32 assists.

“This was an amazing match,” Williamson said of the road game at Linden on Thursday, Oct. 25. “To watch these girls play with so much determination, it was rewarding as a coach.”

The girls were scheduled to take a long road trip on Tuesday, Oct. 30 squaring off with the No. 2 seed Colfax, after The Times went to press. The Section final is set for Saturday, Nov. 3 – the winner of the Colfax-Escalon game on Tuesday will go on to face the winner of the No. 1 Hilmar vs. No. 5 Ripon semifinal contest.