The Lady Jaguars stayed unbeaten on the preseason volleyball circuit in one outing last week, scoring a road victory at Analy in four sets; 25-19, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-22.
Windsor’s Aug. 30 visit to Sebastopol was a great litmus test for a program with playoff aspirations, with the win taking on historic meaning in a venue that has been a tough place to play over the years.
“We had only beaten the Tigers’ varsity team one previous time in school history,” WHS head coach Rich Schwarz said later. “After Tuesday night we can now change that to twice in school history.”
Jags’ hard fought win
The Jaguars were tested early and often against a determined Analy squad, starting with a hotly contested battle in game one. The set was knotted at 6-6 in the early going, but Windsor took charge with the outstanding service games of veteran Kylie Benjamin and Bridget Aikawa.
The Jags surged to a 23-12 advantage and held off a late Tiger’s run to finish off a 25-19 victory.
It was more of the same in game two, as Windsor gained separation from a 6-6 deadlock behind the power of senior outside hitter Allison Post and the strong blocking of sophomore Elena Dyer en route to another 25-19 win.
It was all Tigers in the third set, taking charge with effective passing and serving to surge to a 22-16 lead.
The Jags’ clawed back to knot the contest at 22-all, but Analy would regroup to pull out a 25-22 win.
Game four was the most evenly matched of the night, as Windsor’s Benjamin and Annelise Mahr got their team off to a fast start.
The Tigers battled back to take a two-point lead, but the Jag’s stayed focused for one final push.
“Although Analy had an 18-16 lead, we felt the momentum swinging back to our side,” Schwarz noted.
A pair of kills by sophomore outside hitter Destiny Clark and another from Post put Windsor back in the lead at 19-18, and the Jags would hold off one final Analy charge on their way to a 25-22 win.
Statistical leaders for the Jaguars were; Post (19 kills, 18 digs, 3 blocks), Aikawa (29 assists), Dyer (6 blocks) and Clark (11 kills).
Defensive specialist Nikki Young led the team in passing with a 2.75 average.
It was a big night for Windsor program, as both the JV and freshman teams won in straight sets.
Next up for Windsor is a trip to College Park High School in Pleasant Hill on Thursday, Sept. 8 (4/5/6:30 p.m.).
