COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Experience won out last Tuesday night in Colusa as the RedHawk volleyball team, with its six seniors and front row depth, took the season series from its county and Sacramento Valley League rival Pierce, downing the Bears 25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-5.
Colusa, with its potent attack came out swinging but as the match wore on, found success using the off-speed approach as well, out hitting Pierce 45-24 for the night and while there were long rallies, the Bears also fell victim to unforced errors which have plagued them all season long.
As they have done all year, the RedHawk seniors turned in notable efforts with Peyton Miller registering a double-double with a match-high 16 kills to go along with 13 digs, Abby Coronado finishing with nine kills and nine digs, Cindel Oliver handing out 23 assists and Marlie Berry making 12 digs.
However, two juniors in Leyla Avera and Kendall Marengo stepped up as well, showing what integral roles they play on the team.
Avera posted a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs, while Marengo’s stat line included 10 kills, two aces and two blocks, as each drew praise from head coach Kim Roper.
“Leyla has developed a calmness as the season has progressed which has helped her make better decisions and in turn make greater contributions, while Kendall has become a difference-maker for us as well. Her athleticism adds another dimension to our lineup,” said Roper.
Meanwhile for Pierce, which demonstrated its capabilities with a win in the fourth set, Rylie Delepierre landed some thunderous kills to end the evening with 14 in addition to making three blocks.
Presli Harris had 16 digs and nine assists, Audrey Webber dispensed 10 assists, while Leslye Velazquez and Aileen Myers made 14 and 10 digs respectively.
While the relatively young Bears have made progress this year, Coach Lauren Ornbaun is looking for more consistency from her squad.
“We are definitely playing at higher level now than we were at the start of the season, but we have some really great moments then others where we just can’t seem to do much to help ourselves. I think we have a lot of potential, so it’s frustrating.”
Following the victory over Pierce, Colusa suffered its first loss in SVL play the next evening when it dropped a match to visiting East Nicolaus by scores of 19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21, 11-15.
As a team it was a challenging night offensively as the RedHawks hit at just a .110 clip despite just six recorded blocks by the Spartans.
Coronado did her part with 16 kills, two aces, two blocks and 15 digs, as did Avera who handed out 27 assists and made 12 digs.
Also on the attack, Lauren Gomez finished with 10 kills, Marengo tallied nine, while Oliver doled out 16 assists.
In the back row, Miller and Berry accounted for 24 digs apiece, but it wasn’t enough to hold off East Nicolaus.
On the other hand, Pierce bounced back with a conference win over Paradise prevailing 3-1 although no other information was available.
Regular season play concludes this week with Colusa (25-7, 9-1) traveling to Durham for a match that determined the SVL championship on Oct. 20 before returning home two days later to play Paradise on Senior Night, while Pierce (12-16, 5-4) was in Trowbridge to face East Nic on Tuesday and entertained Winters on Thursday.