COLUSA, CA (MPG) – At the midway point of the Sacramento Valley League season, the Colusa RedHawk volleyball team is flying high after downing its two greatest conference rivals, East Nicolaus and Durham, in respective matches last week.
On the road in Trowbridge last Tuesday to face the Spartans, Colusa found little resistance as they swept East Nicolaus by scores of 25-17, 25-14, 25-20.
Abby Coronado, now fifth in the Northern Section in kills with 248 picked up 13 then served four aces to account for 17 points on the night, Peyton Miller registered nine kills and made 15 digs, while Cindel Oliver dished out 11 assists.
In the back row, Marlie Berry recorded 18 digs and 16 service receptions.
With the Spartans out of the way, the RedHawks returned home to entertain Durham, the only other unbeaten team in SVL play, on Sept. 24 and one who they would ultimately defeat 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 in a refreshingly competitive contest.
It was an inauspicious first set however as the Trojans jumped out to an early lead that they would never relinquish as they hammered away hitting over and through the Colusa block, behind their leading hitter Lily Larrabee who finished the night with a match-high 32 kills.
Then in spite of a similar slow start in the second set, the RedHawks clawed their way to take a 9-8 lead following an ace by Leyla Avera.
Yet, the real turning point of the of not only the set, but the match overall, occurred when Oliver dinked the ball over for a kill to tie the score at 16, but more importantly it turned the momentum in Colusa’s favor as it went on to claim the set after a block by Kendall Marengo.
In the third, the RedHawks started off with an early advantage, but this time it was Durham that fought its way back, although in the end service and several other unforced errors ended their chances.
By the fourth set, the barrage launched by Colusa on both the attack and in service seemed to wear down the Trojans who to their credit kept it close, didn’t quite have the same energy as they had previous.
Again, it was Coronado leading the way with 16 kills and four blocks, but the play of freshman Lauren Gomez was also pivotal as she accounted for eight kills and four blocks.
Colusa also got a noteworthy effort from Avera at the service stripe where she kept Durham out of system in addition to logging three aces and handing out 11 assists.
Other stat leaders for the RedHawks included Oliver with 17 assists and Miller with 17 digs
Coach Kim Roper was proud of her team’s effort and particularly pleased with the resiliency it showed on the court commenting that, “We could have dug ourselves a hole after that first set, but we didn’t. Overall, we battled for every point and adjusted well throughout the match.”
But now having defeated all its toughest opponents, the challenge for the RedHawks is to keep playing at a high level, something that Roper says her squad will have to look internally to maintain.
Now sitting alone atop the SVL standings, Colusa (21-4, 5-0) closed out the month playing in Paradise on Sept. 29, traveled to Willows on Oct. 1 and then to Woodland Christian on Oct. 2.