ARBUCKLE, CA (MPG) – In what has been a rollercoaster of a season for the Bears, they ended conference play on a high note with respective wins over East Nicolaus and Winters.
Going five sets on the road against East Nicolaus last Tuesday, the Bears emerged with the 20-25, 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 17-15 triumph behind a monster performance from Rylie Delepierre whose stat line included 29 kills, 10 blocks and six aces.
Audrey Weber had a double-double as well with 40 assists and 30 digs, as did Presli Harris who made 26 digs and handed out 10 assists, then for good measure added seven kills.
Whitney Traynham finished the match with eight kills, Charlotte Reyna pitched in with seven kills and also accounted for 24 digs.
Libero Leslye Velazquez had a team-high 30 digs while Aileen Myers made 10.
Returning home on Oct. 22, a short-handed Pierce squad still swept Winters by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 25-9.
Weber doubled up again with 24 assists and 16 digs, while Traynham put away 11 kills and Kendall Mulqueeney served five aces.
In the back row, Velazquez recorded 20 digs, Ava Ruiz made 16 and Lyla Maldonado had 14.
Pierce (15-16) was back at full strength when it opened play in the Northern Section Division IV playoffs as the No. 3 seed, hosting No. 6 CORE Butte (10-15) on Oct. 29, with the winner most likely heading to Redding on Nov. 3 to face No. 2 University Prep.