Cate’s Savannah Jones hits in front of Laguna Blanca’s Krysta Brown on Friday night.
Laguna Blanca setter Lauren Alef feeds one of her hitters.
Laguna Blanca’s No. 2 girls volleyball team has been involved in several see-saw battles this season and Friday added another chapter, as the Owls staved off a hungry Cate team 25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 27-25 in Merovick Gym.
“We’re no strangers to make it exciting for our fans and tonight we didn’t disappoint,” said Owls head coach Jim Alzina, whose team improves to 12-2 overall and 6-0 in the Condor League.
“Lauren Alef and Bella Taron both set an awesome game tonight,” Alzina said. “They were the key differences in tonight’s match.”
Both were thrust into larger roles as Laguna was playing without starting setter Amanda Harvey.
Krysta Brown also made her presence felt for the Owls, racking up 12 kills and 11 blocks from the middle. Amanda Schulenberg also tallied 12 kills while Lillie Hodges successfully dug 26 balls.
Cydney Pierce led Cate with 15 kills and only two errors. Addie Mayfield knocked down 10 kills.
The Rams won game two thanks to a huge comeback. Down 13-22 in the set, Kymberly Layer led the turnaround from the service line with four aces. Gracie Gates and Erin Griffin stayed on the court through it all, spearheading the comeback effort with steely play
“What a match to get us ready for the first round (of CIF),” said Rams head coach Greg Novak, whose team has just one match left on its regular season schedule.
That would be against Dunn on Thursday. The Earwigs follow their match with the Rams with another league matchup against Laguna on Friday. The Owls have two regular season matches remaining before CIF pairings are released on November 7, starting Thursday against Cornerstone Christian.
Laguna Blanca’s Lillie Hodges tallied 26 digs for the Owls.
