It’s been a great start to the high school volleyball season for Analy and El Molino varsity teams, each notching a flurry of wins in a busy stretch on the hard-court.
The Lions (8-5) are coming off an impressive week that began with road and home victories over Cloverdale and Middletown, before recording a pair of wins in the Tamalpais Tournament on Saturday.
“I believe this team is going to win a lot of matches this year,” Lion’s coach Becky Sani predicted. “The core girls are experienced and are used to playing hard, and the newcomers have already bonded with returners. I have set up our schedule to include schools with records like ours from the past, but after the level of volleyball we played this weekend, I know we could have tackled a harder schedule.”
The Lions began their latest stretch at Cloverdale on Aug. 21, emptying their bench to easily defeat the Eagles in straight sets: 25-16, 25-15, 25-17. Pacing the attack were Sasha Senal (10 kills, 2 aces), Grace McCormick (3 kills, 7 aces), Kassidy Sani (7 kills, 2 aces) and libero Grace Anderson (7 digs).
El Mo entertained Middletown on Aug. 23, overcoming a sluggish start to turn back the Mustangs in three: 25-16, 25-20, 25-8. Stat leaders included Senal (9 kills, 4 aces, 15 digs), McCormick (9 kills, 8 digs, 21 assists), Sani (9 kills, 17 digs, 13 assists, 2 aces) and Anderson (2 aces, 18 digs).
The Lions hit the road for the Tamalpais Tournament in Mill Valley on Saturday, posting wins over Benicia (2-0) and St. Mary’s and falling to College Park (2-1), California (2-1) and Berkeley (2-0). The highlight of the tourney was an epic, three-game battle with California, which placed third in the NCS Division-3 playoffs last year.
“Our team played the best they have every played,” coach Becky Sani noted. “We fought hard the first set and took the second, while the third set was a battle to the end.”
At press time the Lions were prepping for an Aug. 28 match against St. Helena, and they’ll host Lower Lake on Thursday, Aug. 30. All varsity matches start at 6 p.m.
Tigers notch wins
Analy (3-3) is also coming off a strong week of pre-season action, beginning with a hard-fought win over Piner in the home opener on Aug. 21 in four sets: 25-13, 21-25, 25-10, 25-19.
Turning in outstanding efforts were Claire Rudderow (12 kills, 16 digs), Jalynn Serpa (9 aces, 15 digs) and Bree Scott (20 digs).
“It was our first match of the season, so it was nice to see how the girls were working together,” Tiger’s coach Holly Folendorf said.
On Saturday, Analy competed in the Albany Tournament, going 2-3 on the day, including wins over Albany (2-1) and Lick Wilmerding (2-0). The Tigers’ losses came at the hands of San Leandro (2-1), Marin Catholic (2-0) and University (2-0).
“We got to compete against some really tough teams,” Folendorf noted. “It was a really long day, but good for the girls to be able to work through that and be challenged before going into the season.”
The Tigers will be back in action at Sonoma Valley on Aug. 30 and will host El Molino in the annual “Apple Match” on Thursday, Sept. 6. Both varsity matches start at 6 p.m.
