LAKEPORT — Jesse Sondag came through in a big way Thursday night as the Clear Lake Cardinals overcame a slow start to beat the Cloverdale Eagles 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-10 in a North Central League I South varsity volleyball match at Lakeport.
It was the South opener for the Cardinals, who might have lost game three had it not been for Sondag”s serving. The sophomore reeled off 12 straight points, eight of them aces. She also led the Cardinals with 15 kills.
Briana Butcher had 20 service points and Teresa Coliva added seven kills and two blocks.
In other volleyball action Thursday:
Upper Lake def. St. Vincent
At Upper Lake, the Upper Lake Cougars squared their NCL I South record at 1-1 with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-12 victory over St. Vincent.
While Upper Lake coach Sandy Coatney said the Cougars still have room for improvement, he said their effort against St. Vincent was much better than the one they put forth Tuesday in a loss to St. Helena.
“Tonight the passing was better and so was the serving,” Coatney said.
Thon Chao had 15 digs for the Cougars and Rebecca Swaney reeled off 11 straight points at the service line in game two.
Jackie Lovrin added six kills and six aces and Hannah Johnson had five kills and nine digs.
Kelseyville def. Willits
At Willits, Kelseyville improved to 2-0 in the NCL I North standings with a 25-20, 25-14, 25-17 win over the Willits Wolverines.
Kelseyville rallied from a 10-point deficit to win the first game.
Annie Macias led the Knights with six aces and four kills. Kaitlyn Goff added seven kills.
Lower Lake def. Fort Bragg
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans opened defense of their NCL I North title with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-9 victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves.
Renita Gilliam stood out in a big way for Lower Lake with 12 kills on 17 arm swings and only one hitting error. She also led the team with nine blocks, five aces and seven digs.
“She had a wonderful night,” Lower Lake coach Danessa Udy said.
Middletown def. St. Helena
At St. Helena, Middletown held off St. Helena to win 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20 in NCL I interlock action.
“It was the best game ever,” Middletown coach Jennifer Breiner said of the match. “My girls were simply awesome.”
Kayla Wood”s 21 kills, four blocks and three aces led the way. Kelsey Guzman added 16 kills and nine blocks and Jessica Boylan had 11 kills.
Girls” soccer
Clear Lake 2, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, Annie Gall scored three minutes into the first half and Elena Tipton scored three minutes into the second half as the Clear Lake Cardinals shut out the Upper Lake Cougars in NCL I South play.
Clear Lake (2-1, 10-5-1) lost keeper Mori Jordan to a red card, the second straight game a Cardinals player has been red-carded. Co-coach Paul Larrea had no comment on Jordan”s red card.
“We had more than 20 shots,” Larrea said of the win over the Cougars (0-3, 2-7). “But every time we went forward we were offisdes.”
Willits 1, Lower Lake 0
At Lower Lake, Willits scored midway through the first half, the only goal of the game, in blanking the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I North action.
“We had many opportunities but they do have a good goalie,” Lower Lake coach Daniel Wieman said.
Ashley Willard made her first start at keeper for Lower Lake and was nearly flawless, according to Wieman.
Boys” soccer
n Clear Lake 8, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, Matt Stegman scored four goals, all in the first half, and Robert Anderson had four assists as the Clear Lake Cardinals blanked the Upper Lake Cougars for their first NCL I South win.
Matt Weiss, Lupe Nunes, George Reyes and Josh Espinoza also scored for the Cardinals, now 3-10 overall. Nunes also had two assists.
Clear Lake led 5-0 after one half.
Kelseyville 3, Middletown 0
At Kelseyville, first-half goals by Jorge Mendez, Oscar Martinez and Ivan Rodriguez carried the Kelseyville Knights to a win over the Middletown Mustangs.
“We”re starting to pass a little better,” said Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma, who was impressed with Middletown”s play.
“Middletown has progressed a lot,” he said.
Kelseyville evened its NCL I North record at 2-2 and improved to 6-3-1 overall. Middletown is 0-3 and 5-9.
