LAKEPORT — Tournament favorite Marin Catholic of Kentfield didn”t disappoint on Saturday during the annual Clear Lake Tournament at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport.
One of eight varsity volleyball teams in the tournament field, Marin Catholic won all six of its matches and didn”t drop a single game. The Wildcats went on to beat Lower Lake, one of four Lake County teams entered, 25-18, 25-10 in the championship match.
“Marin Catholic was the team,” Clear Lake head coach and tournament director Marci Psalmonds said. “They were pretty good.”
Tournament host Clear Lake, Lower Lake, Middletown and Upper Lake represented Lake County in the tournament and while many of the Lake County teams went head to head, there was no obvious winner, according to Psalmonds, although Lower Lake coach Danessa Udy”s Trojans advanced to the finals.
“I know we can beat any of them and I think they (other Lake County coaches) are thinking the same thing,” Psalmonds said.
Lower Lake went 2-1 in its pool, beating Hoopa (see tournament box at right) and McKinleyville and losing to Clear Lake, which also went 2-1.
In the other pool, which Marin Catholic dominated, Upper Lake defeated Middletown 25-22, 25-21 for its only pool win. Middletown also beat Fortuna 25-20, 22-25, 15-13.
In the playoff round, Middletown knocked off McKinleyville 26-24, 11-25, 15-12 and Lower Lake defeated Upper Lake 25-21, 19-25, 15-12. With a berth in the championship match riding on the line, Lower Lake beat Middletown 25-20, 25-18.
Also in the playoff round, Fortuna outsted Clear Lake 26-24, 15-25, 15-7 before losing to Marin Catholic in the other semifinal.
“We couldn”t pass worth a darn and if you can”t pass you can”t do anything else,” Psalmonds said in summing up the Cardinals” up-and-down day, which included 162 good passes and 160 shanks. “Fifty percent won”t cut it,” Psalmonds said.
Jesse Sondag was Clear Lake”s leader with 30 kills, Katie Reynolds led the team with 39 service points, and Kaila Sterbank turned in the best overall effort among the Cardinals with 29 points and 21 digs.
“She was digging everything up,” Psalmonds said. “She”s becoming a solid player.”
Three Lake County players were named to the All-Tournament team. Honored from Lower Lake were Darlena White and Tashee Denson, and Middletown”s Kayla Wood also made it.
