Laguna Blanca swept Cate on Wednesday in a Condor League match. (Brad Elliott Photos)
Once Colton Johnson got it going at the net, Laguna Blanca’s volleyball team wasn’t going to be stopped against Condor League rival Cate.
The visiting Rams were ahead 12-11 in the first set when Zimmerman took over. He blocked for the tying point and crushed an overset to put the Owls in the lead for good. They went on to win the match, 25-18, 25-8, 25-11, at Merovick Gym.
Colton Johnson led Laguna Blanca with 10 kills.
Laguna Blanca, the No. 4 ranked team in CIF Division 5, improves to 9-3 and 2-0 in league. Cate is 4-2, 0-1.
Ryan Bickett’s strong serving and two more kills by Johnson expanded Laguna Blanca’s lead to 18-13 in the first set.
“We were really serving the ball well,” Johnson said. “Tough serves were a big key, and our passing and digging on defense was really good.”
Johnson, a senior, had 10 kills on 19 attacks with one error to pace the Owls’ attack. He also had three blocks. Freshman Jack Copeland was solid in the middle with six kills on seven attempts and opposite Cuyler Zimmerman added six kills with no errors.
“We made only seven hitting errors,” said Laguna Blanca coach Dillan Bennett.
Cate was led by 6-4 sophomore Morgan Pierce with 11 kills and a .333 hitting average. Spencer Whiteman and Oliver Welch each had four kills.
The Rams were hurt by a slew unforced errors and fell behind 8-2 in the second set.
In the third set, Johnson put away five balls to stake Laguna Blanca to a 6-1 advantage. Later, he combined with Copeland on a stuff block for a 14-7 lead. Kiyan Mashhoon had two kills and a service ace in the set.
