CLOVERDALE >> Carli Mendonca hit better than 50 percent from the front line Tuesday night — and that’s a real big deal in volleyball — during Kelseyville’s 25-17, 26-28, 25-19, 25-16 road victory over the Cloverdale Eagles in North Central League I varsity action.
Mendonca registered 22 kills on only 41 arm swings (54 percent) and with just three hitting errors to lead the undefeated Knights to their 11th league victory in as many matches.
“She was jumping out of the gym,” Kelseyville coach Donelle McCallister said. “She’s very smart with her placement.”
And when Mendonca began to cool of a little bit, teammate Heidy Cano took over. She finished with 14 kills and a team-best three blocks.
Setter Riley Goff recorded 38 assists while feeding her big hitters and Lauren Rudnick’s overall play drew high praise from McCallister.
“She’s a game-changer,” McCallister said of Rudnick. “The stats might not always show it, but she just does everything for us out there. She’s all over the place.”
McCallister also had high praise for the Eagles (5-6), who battled the Knights in every game.
“They played really well,” McCallister said. “They picked up a lot of balls.”
The Knights can clinch no worse than a tie for the league championship with a victory Thursday night in Fort Bragg against the Timberwolves (3-8). Kelseyville’s final two matches are next week against Middletown (at home) and Clear Lake (at Lakeport).
Cloverdale won the junior varsity match in three sets, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8.
