LAKEPORT — They might have been Clear Lake fans tired of what they were seeing or St. Helena fans eager to hit the road a little early. Coach Marci Psalmonds doesn”t care either way.
“I told my girls, ?See all those people leaving, let”s show ”em,” Psalmonds said between the second and third games of a North Central League I varsity volleyball match between the host Cardinals and visiting Saints. “Half the people left the gym.”
Trailing two games to none against the undefeated Saints, Clear Lake rallied for a 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-13 victory, a win that puts the Cardinals (4-1) atop the standings along with St. Helena (4-1).
“They missed one heck of a match,” Psalmonds said of the fans who departed Tues-day”s match a bit prematurely.
Clear Lake made a key lineup change prior to the third game, one that left Vanessa Tullos in the game regardless of where she was on the floor.
“I changed the lineup a little bit and it worked out,” Psalmonds said of keeping Tullos on the floor full-time while also subbing in libero Coree Alexander for Jessica Asbury when Asbury rotated into the back row.
“Vanessa did an awesome job,” Psalmonds said.
Tullos record 10 kills up front and 11 digs while playing in the back row. She also led the Cardinals with eight aces, rounding out a solid overall performance.
Asbury finished with a team-high 14 kills and seven blocks while setter Morgan Psalmonds had 28 assists to go along with four kills. Haley Garzoli added five aces.
“We refused to lose,” Psalmonds said.
Clear Lake and St. Helena meet again on Oct. 27 in St. Helena, a match that could very well decide the league title.
In other volleyball action Tuesday night:
Cloverdale def. Lower Lake
At Cloverdale, instead of moving into a first-place tie with Clear Lake and St. Helena, the Lower Lake Trojans were upset by the Cloverdale Eagles, who picked up their first league win with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-14, 25-12 victory.
“It was not a good night for us,” Lower Lake coach Danessa Udy said of the Trojans” performance.
In terms of Lower Lake”s inability to return serve, Udy said it was the worst performance by one of her teams in 18 years.
“I was in shock,” Udy said.
Cloverdale had at least 19 aces, according to Udy.
After winning the second game to even the match at 1-1, the Trojans (3-2) fell apart in the third game as Cloverdale opened up a 14-0 lead. Lower Lake never recovered.
“We just could not literally serve receive,” Udy said.
Adrina Miller was one of the few bright spots for the Trojans with 12 kills, four blocks and six aces. Danacka Whittington also had seven kills.
“And she had a great passing night,” Udy said of Whittington.
Kelseyville def. Middletown
At Middletown, after dropping the first game, the Kelseyville Knights rallied to beat the Middletown Mustangs 14-25, 25-15, 26-24, 25-20 in NCL I action. It was Kelseyville”s first league win.
“It was actually a very good game, we were pretty evenly matched,” Middletown coach Suzanne Riccio said. “I”m disappointed with the loss, but I”m not disappointed with the way the team played today.”
Aly Mino”s nine kills powered the Mustangs (1-4), Nika Gibbs added seven kills and 10 service points, and Rachel Sutton and Krystina Riccio had six kills apiece.
Kelseyville (1-3) had a big night from Jeannie Johnson, who the Knights were relying on with their other middle hitter, Jennifer Green, out sick. Johnson responded with 16 kills and three aces. Kyra Rudnick moved from libero to middle hitter and had six kills, three aces and 12 digs for Kelseyville.
Other standouts for the Knights were setter Bonnie McCallister with 31 assists and Daxota Rixen and Mary McCallister, who were the team”s passing leaders.
Sonoma Academy def. Upper Lake
At Upper Lake, the Upper Lake Cougars struggled with their passing game all night long and lost 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 to Sonoma Academy in non-league action.
“Passing problems ? that was our biggest issue tonight,” Upper Lake coach Sandy Coatney said. “And in every single game they (Coyotes) had one streak where they ran off five points in a row.”
Kat Edmonds led Upper Lake with 11 kills and four aces. BobbieLynn Collins added five kills.
Upper Lake won the junior varsity match in two games (scores not available).
