FORT BRAGG >> Clear Lake High School’s young volleyball squad experienced a learning curve of sorts during its appearance Saturday at the Fort Bragg Tournament.
“It was a huge roller coaster,” Clear Lake coach Marci Psalmonds said of her team’s performance. “We looked really good at times, but not others. They need more court time, but they’ll pull it together.”
Clear Lake won only one of its five tournament matches, including an 0-3 record in pool play after losses to Fort Bragg (25-13, 26-28, 15-5), Roseland University Prep (25-18, 25-12) and Arcata (25-15, 25-15).
Dropped into the gold bracket, the Cardinals picked up their lone victory, a 25-23, 25-23 win over Middletown. They lost to Fort Bragg 25-15, 25-23 in their final match.
Maddie Ferguson led Clear Lake with a tournament-total 91 digs and Shaelyn McIntire had a team-best 31 kills. Pulled up from the junior varsity squad, Emma Boatwright finished with 13 kills and 12 blocks.
“Emma had a really good tournament,” Psalmonds said. “She’s staying up (on the varsity).”
Despite their tough day on the court, the Cardinals played hard in every match, according to Psalmonds.
“They fight,” she said. “They battled back in a lot of the games.”
Clear Lake is off until Tuesday when it travels to St. Helena for the North Central League I opener for both teams. JV action begins at 5 p.m.
