Laguna Blanca libero Lillie Hodges.
Laguna Blanca prevailed in a matchup of two solid small-school girls volleyball programs on Thursday, as the Owls went up the road to Bishop Diego and picked up a 25-11, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16 win over the Cardinals at the Brickhouse.
Bishop Diego's McKenna Hogue (photos by Vince Agapito).
Libero Lillie Hodges and Hillary Williamson led a strong passing effort that allowed for Laguna’s offense to run effectively. Amanda Schulenberg put away a match-high 14 kills and Amanda Harvey added 10. Williamson had nine digs while Hodges added seven.
Bishop Diego was led by eight kills apiece from Nicole Tetherow and Diana Sleep. Maddy Ballard shoveled up 20 digs.
Harvey served the final seven points of the first set to put the Owls up 1-0, but the Cardinals bounced back in the second frame. McKenna Hogue broke a 10-10 tie with a cut shot from the left side and the hosts had a lead from that point forward. Arabella Weston-Smith served five straight point midway through the third set and Lauren Alef had a five-point streak of her own soon after. Bella Taron put away a kill on the right side to end the set.
Weston-Smith and Harvey both had significant serving runs in the fourth set, and Schulenberg had two aces with a kill in the final seven points. The match ended on a kill from Fiona Jessup.
Both teams play at the Carpinteria Invitational this weekend.
