Local high school volleyball teams are at the midpoint of their North Bay League schedules this week, with both El Molino and Analy looking to finish up divisional play on a strong note.
Lions overpower opponents
The Lions (21-6 overall) maintained first place in the NBL Redwood Division with wins over Piner and Rancho Cotate to stay unbeaten at 6-0.
The stretch began with an Oct. 8 visit to Piner, easily dispatching the Prospectors in straight sets: 25-8, 25-17, 25-17.
“We had absolutely no idea what Piner was going to bring to the match since we hadn’t seen them in a tournament or even seen any Max Preps updates that would give us an idea of what to expect,” El Mo coach Becky Sani noted. “It didn’t take us long to see that we weren’t going to need our special defense for a big hitter so we went back to our normal Lions defense right away.”
El Mo took the opportunity to move players around, most notably swapping setter Grace McCormick with outside hitter Kassidy Sani with no drop-off in production.
Stat leaders included Sani (10 kills, 13 digs), Bella Raia (4 kills, 3 digs), McCormick (3 kills, 20 assists, 4 aces, 23 digs), Yasmin Sierra (3 aces, 12 digs) and Grace Livingston (8 digs).
El Molino played host to Rancho Cotate on Oct. 10 on “Dig Pink Night” as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Proceeds from the match went to Sutter Heath to help pay for mammograms for those in need. In addition, players made a variety of desserts that were sold to raise funds for the cause.
The Lions finished off a perfect first half with a relatively easy win, dispatching the Cougars in three games: 25-22, 25-17, 25-17.
“After allowing Rancho to take a set from us in the Nor Cal tournament last weekend, we wanted to establish our dominance early in the match,” coach Becky Sani noted. “We didn’t want them to think they could come into our house and take even a set from us.”
The Lions effectively neutralized Rancho’s big hitter, holding her to just 10 kills on the night.
“Rancho is our toughest opponent in the league this year, and they definitely have the hardest hitter in their big middle,” Becky Sani said. “If we can work out a few more of the problems with our new defense, then we’ll be ready for any middle that can hit hard angles to the wings in playoffs.”
Top performers against Rancho Cotate were Kassidy Sani (15 kills, 2 blocks, 10 digs), Sierra (3 aces, 13 digs), McCormick (5 kills, 26 assists, 6 digs), Sasha Senal (5 kills, 1 block, 11 digs), Alex Foszcz (5 kills, 2 aces), Brooklynn Hayes (4 kills, 1 block) and Livingston (9 digs).
The Lions have their sights set on hanging their first pennant in 15 years as they embark on the home stretch in the league schedule.
“We keep saying that it’s a train ride full steam ahead, and all my team has to do is believe they can,” Sani said “I’ll put the pieces together out there on the floor, and we’ll hopefully bring home a pennant, which El Mo hasn’t done in a very, very long time.”
The Lions will host Ukiah on Oct. 15 (after press time) and visit Healdsburg on Thursday, Oct. 17. Both varsity matches start at 6 p.m.
Tigers fall to Panthers, Cardinals
Analy remains in search of their first NBL Oak Division win, following a pair of recent losses to Santa Rosa and Cardinal Newman.
The Tigers began the stretch with an Oct. 8 visit to Santa Rosa, falling to the Panthers in five sets: 25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 23-25, 16-18.
Stat leaders included Bella Puget (26 kills), Marquesa Weigel (16 digs, 4 aces), Juliette Price (9 kills, 14 digs) and Gillian Campbell (23 assists, 11 digs).
The Tigers finished up a tough week at Cardinal Newman two nights later, falling to the Cardinals in straight sets: 18-25, 13-25, 19-25.
The Tigers (0-6, 6-12) resume league play at Maria Carrillo on Oct. 15 and host Windsor on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.
