Jaguars return six; looking to build on best-ever 2015 campaign
The Jaguars kicked off the fall volleyball season in winning fashion on Friday, turning back visiting Healdsburg in straight sets.
Under veteran coach Rich Schwarz, Windsor begins the 2016 campaign looking to build on the successes of last year, a watershed season that set the bar high with a program best 23-10 overall record and a trip to the North Coast Section Division-2 quarterfinals.
The Jags may not skip a beat this year, returning a solid core of six varsity players with both talent and experience, giving Schwarz plenty of reasons for optimism.
“I’ve made it known that I feel if this team works hard at playing as a team and eliminating unforced errors, we could go further than last season,” Schwarz predicted. “Although most of these girls haven’t played together before they have known each other for years. That should speed up how long it takes us to gel.”
Among the list of varsity returnees are senior first team all-league outside hitters Allison Post, senior first team all-league setter Bridget Aikawa, junior defensive specialists Kylie Benjamin and Celina Sylvester, sophomore outside hitter Destiny Clark, and junior setter Erica Rennie.
“Allison and Bridget give us the leadership needed on this inexperienced team, Schwarz noted. “Kylie and Celina will anchor the defense and Destiny is moving from middle to outside hitter. Erica will hold down the fort when we give Aikawa a break.”
New to the varsity team this season is a promising group of seniors that include;
outside hitter Lindsay Tucker, right-side hitters Yessenia Sanchez and Cheloy Gonzales, and defensive specialists Annelise Mahr and Nikki Young.
First-year sophomores are Brittany Johnson and Elena Dyer, who will be taking over the middle hitter duties. Junior setter Kaitlyn Alger is a Cardinal Newman transfer who will be eligible to play on Oct. 3.
Jags turn back Hounds
The Lady Jags overcame a slow start in their Aug. 26 meeting with visiting Healdsburg, spotting the Greyhounds, erasing a 6-4 deficit to surge ahead 17-8. The Hounds didn’t pack it in, taking advantage of six straight Windsor errors to grab a 25-24 lead, but the Jags regrouped to close out a 27-25 win.
“Both teams showed some nerves early but we kept our cool and pulled out an ugly game,” Schwarz said.
It was all Jaguars from that point, as Windsor easily closed out the next to games to claim the match; 27-25, 25-14 and 25-11.
Post led the offensive attack, finishing up with 18 kills and 10 digs. Aikawa chipped in 24 assists, while Benjamin and Sylvester had 15 and 12 digs respectively. Defensive/Serving specialist Annelise Mahr had an outstanding match with 13 service points.
The JV squad, led by coach Colleen Noonan, also defeated Healdsburg in straight sets.
Windsor will be back on the court on Aug. 30 (after press time) with a trip to Analy, and visit College Park in Pleasant Hill on Thursday, Sept. 8 (4/5/6:30 p.m.).
The Jags kick off the North Bay League schedule at home on Sept. 13 against Maria Carrillo.
