Windsor hoping to win out for first ever league crown
The WHS volleyball team figures to make things exciting for local fans this week as it makes a last-ditch effort to secure a first-ever North Bay League championship.
Windsor (10-2, 16-4) began the final week of play in a virtual tie atop the NBL standings with defending champion Maria Carrillo, with remaining home and away dates against Cardinal Newman (Oct. 25, after press time) and at Rancho Cotate on Thursday, Oct. 27 (4/5/6:30 p.m.).
Should the Jags win out, they will finish in no worse than a tie for first place.
The Jaguars navigated a treacherous stretch in league action last week with a split in a pair of matches, dropping a three-set match at Montgomery before rebounding with a three-game win at Casa Grande.
Jags take one of two
Windsor traveled to face a red-hot Montgomery squad in Santa Rosa on Oct. 18, falling to the resurgent Vikings; 25-15, 25-22 and 25-19.
“Game 1 was easily the worst we played as a team all season, with 11 hitting errors and four missed serves,” WHS coach Rich Schwarz said. “You can’t hand a quality team like the Vikings 15 free points and expect to win, especially when they are playing so well.”
Windsor battled back in the second set behind the firepower of outside hitter Allison Post and middle hitters Brittany Johnson and Elena Dyer to knot the game at 22-22, but the Vikings would score the last three points to pull out a 25-22 win.
The Jags spotted Montgomery an 8-1 lead in the decisive third set before clawing back to get within two at 13-11. It was as close as it would get the rest of the way as the Vikings closed out the set and match, 25-19.
Dyer paced the attack with 5 kills and 2 blocks, while Johnson (6 kills, 2 blocks), Post (12 kills) and Bridget Aikawa (22 assists, 11 digs) also played well for Windsor.
The Jaguars were back in the win column two days later at Casa Grande, spoiling the Gaucho’s Senior Night to complete a season sweep in straight sets; 25-14, 25-21 and 25-21.
“With everyone on the team starting to get over their illnesses, the mood was high for the first time in a few weeks,” Schwarz noted, citing great efforts from Celina Sylvester, Lindsay Tucker, Yessenia Sanchez, Destiny Clark, and defenders Kylie Benjamin, Kaitlyn Alger and Nikki Young. “Game 1 was never in doubt and games 2 and 3 were identical as we built early leads and stayed in control the whole time.”
Statistical leaders for the Jaguars were Post (12 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces), Aikawa (24 assists, 2 aces), Johnson (7 kills, 2 blocks) and Kylie Benjamin (14 digs).
