KELSEYVILLE >> Kelseyville High School is on a pretty good run in volleyball and it’s likely not over yet.
The Knights are a combined 39-3 in league play the last three seasons, all three of those losses coming to the league’s other powerhouse, the St. Helena Saints. Kelseyville won the outright North Central League I championship in 2013, finished second to an undefeated St. Helena squad in 2014, and ran the table last season with a 14-0 mark.
While Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister won’t ever predict a league title for her team, not even if it’s a mathematical certainty, her quiet confidence in both players and team is always there. McCallister is the Lake County Record-Bee Coach of the Year in girls’ sports for the 2015-16 high school season.
While the Knights lost league MVP Jeannie Johnson to graduation following the 2013 season, a much younger group of Kelseyville players returned in 2014 to nearly win it all. In 2015, they produced another league MVP from their ranks, junior setter Riley Goff, who was accompanied by a great supporting cast featuring All-League first-team middle blocker Heidy Cano, All-League first-team outside hitter Lauren Rudnick, All-League second-team outside hitter Carly Mendonca, and All-League honorable mention libero Payton Conrad. All but Cano return in 2016, so McCallister’s and the Knights’ league dominance might stretch out another season or two … even if their coach won’t admit it.
The 2015 team was special in many ways, according to McCallister.
“All 10 of them found a spot and played a role on that team and that’s unique,” McCallister said. “The commitment of all 10 was there. They enjoyed each other and worked as a team.”
What’s more, the Knights — all 10 of them — were just good people, according to McCallister.
“They’re really nice girls and many of them are three-sport athletes,” she said. “They’re just hard workers.”
Many of the same girls who contributed to the volleyball team’s success in the fall also helped the basketball team earn a share of the league title in the winter and helped make a winner out of the softball team, which qualified for the North Coast Section playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
“In a small school we’re all sharing the same kids,” McCallister said. “And these kids are competitive no matter what they’re doing.”
With only one starter not returning from a team that went 23-8 overall last season, the Knights have every reason to look to forward to the upcoming campaign. Just don’t expect McCallister to predict a second straight league title or a third championship in four years.
“I’m excited,” McCallister said, “but it’s a new season and we’re starting all over. We have a lot of the same players back but they might not be playing the same positions. It’s all about team chemistry.”
