LAKEPORT >> On the things to do checklist for Clear Lake High School varsity volleyball coach Marci Psalmonds, she can now cross off first win of season.
One night after opening the 2018 campaign with a three-set loss at Colusa, the Cardinals bounced right back on Wednesday to beat the Upper Lake Cougars 25-15, 25-17, 26-24 in non-league action at Lakeport.
“We played just good enough to win, but we played better tonight,” Psalmonds said.
Daijanae Landers pounded out 13 kills to power the offense and Madi Ferguson had 18 digs to spark the defense. Also contributing in the win were Shaelyn McIntire and Joy Ingalls, each with six kills, and setter Kylie Udy with 24 assists.
“She (Udy) did a great job of distributing the ball tonight,” Psalmonds said.
Clear Lake returns to action Monday with a home match against Anderson Valley.
Upper Lake coach Raelene Cromwell said the Cougars played the best they could for having only three practices, all of those at the Clear Lake High School gym and Marge Alakszay Center in Lakeport courtesy of the Lakeport Unified School District, which made their facilities available to the currently homeless Cougars – their gym will re-open on Friday after being thoroughly cleaned of smoke and ash from the Ranch Fire.
“It was very kind of them to let us do that,” Cromwell said. “The girls overall did pretty well given the amount of time we’ve had (to practice). Two of our starters still don’t have a single practice.”
No Upper Lake statistics were available. The Cougars hit the road Thursday to play Fort Bragg.
JV match
Clear Lake also won the junior varsity match to give new coach Morgan Psalmonds her first high school victory. The Cardinals beat the Cougars 25-22, 25-21 behind five kills from freshman outside hitter Hailee Bussard and some excellent serving from freshman setter Sydney Howe, who had two long runs at the service line in the first set and another long run in the second set when she served the final six points, the final two aces.
Playing their second match in as many days, the Cardinals improved to 1-1 on the season.
“We didn’t have any time (between matches) to work on things, but they were able to pull it out and I’m very proud of them,” Psalmonds said.
Isabel Sanchez led the Cougars with 11 service points.
“It was a great game for both teams,” Upper Lake coach Dani Paige Gudmundson Pena said. “We have had only three practices and they were this week. Clear Lake was kind enough to open their gyms up our JV and varsity teams so we could get a few practices in. We can’t thank them enough.”
Clear Lake’s JVs return to action Friday in Eureka. They return to the court Saturday for the Arcata Tournament. Upper Lake’s JVs play Thursday in Fort Bragg.
