OAKLAND, CA (MPG) – After a thrilling five set win over International High School of San Francisco on Nov. 7, the Colusa RedHawks suffered a season ending loss on the road to the No. 1 seeded Skyline Titans in the second round of the 2023 CIF Division V State Volleyball Championships just two days later.
Against Skyline, a school of over 1,500 students located in the Oakland Hills, the No. 8 RedHawks battled back from a rough first set to claim the second, but ultimately fell 12-25, 25-13, 23-25, 17-25.
Statistics from the match were not available.
Yet, it was much different story last Tuesday night at home, when Colusa held off a spirited challenge from No. 9 International, an international baccalaureate school that has a K-12 enrollment of just over 1,000 students, to claim the 25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 19-25, 15-11 victory.
In the opening set, it appeared as if the Jaguars somewhat underestimated the RedHawks, but credit also goes to Colusa for its smart play, implementing off speed shots to keep the visitors off balance.
A defensive adjustment by International turned the second set into a back-and-forth affair, but the RedHawks prevailed after consecutive kills by Cece Mitchum and Aliah Ramirez.
However, there was a momentum shift in the third and fourth sets, as Colusa sent too many free balls over the net allowing the Jaguars to stay in system and hammer away on the attack.
Needing to come out strong in the final set, the RedHawks did just that, jumping out to a 12-5 lead, and although International made things interesting, Mitchum closed out the match with an ace.
It was an impressive performance for Mitchum, a sophomore, as she logged eight kills, 21 digs, and five assists, prompting Coach Kim Roper to dub it “her best of the season.”
Also finishing with notable stat lines were Elle Faris and Addison Lay.
In her final game for Colusa, Faris rounded out her career with 15 kills, 11 assists, 22 digs and 13 service receptions, while Lay concluded the match with 22 assists, 13 kills and 12 digs.
Despite the offensive firepower, the real story of the night was the RedHawk back row led by Abril Guzman and Olivia Huskey, who both exhibited clutch play and created opportunities for Colusa to capitalize by keeping rallies alive.
Guzman made a team-high 24 digs and 32 service receptions, while Huskey tallied 12 digs and 17 receptions.
Although Colusa fell short of reaching the semifinal round of the state tournament, Roper was proud of her team’s season and is looking forward to what next year may bring.
“Every year the goal is to be the best, win it all and bring home a banner,” Roper explained. “This season was no different and while there was no lack of effort, we just came up short at the end. We had some great moments including beating East Nic and Orland, then most recently our first-round state playoff win, but it is hard to have to say goodbye to our two amazing seniors. Still, with the number of returners we have, I am definitely looking
forward to seeing what we can do next season.”
Despite losing Faris and fellow senior, Allie Reading, Colusa (26-13) has a promising future given that Lay, Guzman, Huskey, and Ramirez, along with McKenna Azbill, all return, as will Mitchum, to form a strong foundation on which the RedHawks can build.