COLUSA, CA (MPG) – An electric atmosphere filled Colusa’s Don Bransford Gymnasium last Thursday night as the RedHawks faced off against the Pierce Bears as the two teams vied to keep pace with East Nicolaus atop the Sacramento Valley League standings.
And while Colusa edged the Bears in the first set 25-20, Pierce, buoyed by a small but vocal crowd, came back with a vengeance to take the next three sets and stun the RedHawks who fell 18-25, 16-25, 16-25.
At the onset, it was entertaining and competitive volleyball with the two squads trading points and neither side leading by more than two points.
Although both teams were feeling the effects of some extra adrenaline, the RedHawks settled down first in the initial set and were able to keep the Bears out of system, really for the only time in the match.
Yet, Pierce, who had not beaten Colusa since Sept. 26, 2020 fought back, shifting into another gear in the second set, playing smart both at the net and in coverage.
In the third set, the RedHawks looked initially like they might regain the form they showed early on, but the Bears rallied from an early deficit, remaining in system and spreading the ball around nicely on the attack and maintained their control to finish off Colusa in the fourth and notch the convincing victory.
And while they struggled at times, it was the way her squad banded together that most pleased Pierce coach Lauren Ornbaun who said, “The team as a whole did their jobs equally. If one person was ever struggling, someone else picked it up for them.”
The Bears held the advantage at the net, outhitting the RedHawks 46 to 30 behind a balanced attack led by Leah Charter and Rylie Delepierre with 11 kills apiece along with Maicey Hoebel and Charile Wayman who each had nine.
Pierce’s block was also significant with Delepierre accounting for four and Hoebel batting down three.
Setters Magali Jauregui and Charter moved the ball well distributing 26 and 17 assists respectively.
Meanwhile, in the back row, Macey Myers kept Pierce in system registering 34 digs and 25 service receptions, while Jauregui had 19 digs, Wayman made 11 and Jocelyn Ramos had 10 digs.
Ramos and Destany Martinez may have been the unsung heroes of the night, stepping up when called upon as Ornbaun explained, “Jocelyn made consistent moves and Destany did everything we asked her to do.”
For the RedHawks, who struggled to put the ball away at times, Addison Lay ended the night 14 kills, 11 assists and 16 digs, while Cece Mitchum did her part logging eight kills, 16 digs and 25 service receptions.
Libero Abril Guzman made 24 digs and 39 service receptions for Colusa, who also saw Peyton Miller make 11 digs and Olivia Huskey finish with 10.
Cindel Oliver finished with 11 assists, three aces and six digs.
This week, Pierce (17-5, 3-0) who had beaten Durham on Sept 17, hosted Paradise on Tuesday before making the trip to Trowbridge on Thursday to face powerful East Nicolaus for outright control of the SVL.
Colusa (15-7, 2-1), who participated in the Tamalpais Tournament in Mill Valley on Sept. 21 where they went 1-3, welcomed East Nic to town on Tuesday before heading to Durham on Thursday.