UPPER LAKE >> After dropping the first two sets, the Upper Lake Cougars came roaring back to beat the Sonoma Academy Coyotes 22-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-11 in North Central League II varsity volleyball action on Tuesday night in Upper Lake.
“We couldn’t serve worth a darn in the first two games,” Upper Lake coach Raelene Cromwell said. “Service errors were killing us.”
Upper Lake bounced back behind 17 kills and 11 digs from Christina Wilson, seven kills apiece from Neveah Solorio, Brenna Sanchez and Seneca Snow, and 20 digs from Briana Binns, who was only the Cougar who had any kind of success from the service line, according to Cromwell.
Another key contributor in the win was Jasmin Velasco, who had three solo blocks, all of which came at “perfect times” for the Cougars in the match, according to Cromwell.
Upper Lake suffered a key blow in the third set when Snow went down with a knee injury.
“I don’t know if she’ll play again this season,” Cromwell said.
Upper Lake also won the junior varsity match 25-10, 22-25, 15-11 behind 10 kills and 15 service points from Maria Wade, 20 points from Molly McCabe, and six kills from Alana Sanchez.
The Cougars host St. Vincent on Wednesday before closing out their league schedule Thursday on the road against Rincon Valley Christian.
In other volleyball action Thursday:
Middletown def. St. Helena
At St. Helena, Middletown improved to 4-7 in the NCL I standings with a 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16 victory over the St. Helena Saints.
“They played their hearts out,” Middletown coach Vanessa Davis said of the Mustangs.
Taylor Griffin and Abbey Brown had seven kills apiece for Middletown while Amy Herrmann finished with five kills and three aces. She also had four critical service points in the third set that helped change momentum in the Mustangs’ favor.
Middletown plays at Cloverdale today and wraps up the regular season with a home match Thursday against Lower Lake.
The Mustangs won the JV match. The score wasn’t reported.
Willits def. Lower Lake
At Willits, bidding for their first league win, the Lower Lake Trojans came up just a bit short as the Willits Wolverines prevailed 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 15-5.
“We played well,” Lower Lake coach Jen Emberson said of the Trojans (0-11), who will get one last chance at a league victory Thursday night when they visit Middletown.
Shelby Sapeta’s eight kills, 17 digs and six aces powered Lower Lake. Patti McCleery added 18 digs and three aces while Maria Santos had 16 digs.
Lower Lake’s JVs beat Willits 25-21, 25-13.
