KELSEYVILLE — For any North Central League I volleyball team that complains about traveling to Fort Bragg, consider that the Timberwolves travel a minimum of one hour every time they play a road match.
Willits is Fort Bragg’s closest league opponent, St. Helena the farthest away at two-and-a-half hours.
On Wednesday evening, Fort Bragg visited Kelseyville just 24 hours after playing Clear Lake in Lakeport on Tuesday night.
“I am beyond exhausted,” Fort Bragg head coach Kim Mertle said after her tired varsity Timberwolves completed their league and regular-season schedule with a 22-25, 25-9, 25-12, 25-22 win over the Knights. “It was ugly, but we pulled it off.”
“They’re a good team,” Kelseyville head coach Donelle McCallister said of the Timberwolves. “We got the first game but then they started playing.”
Fort Bragg (14-2) the NCL I runner-up this season behind undefeated Roseland University Prep (14-0), which still has one more match to play, improved to 21-7 overall and is headed to next week’s North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs as an at-large team. The Timberwolves stand to be better rested for their first-round match Wednesday than they were were for the league finale against the Knights.
While Mertle said the Timberwolves are happy with the way their regular season went, the two league losses to undefeated league champion Roseland University Prep, including a five-set loss to RUP in Fort Bragg, are still hard to swallow.
“We’re still kicking ourselves about RUP,” Mertle said.
Carmen Velazquez powered Fort Bragg against Kelseyville with nine kills, five aces, 13 digs and 15 assists.
“She had a great game,” Mertle said.
Other Fort Bragg standouts were Lucy Hendricks with 17 kills and 25 digs and Jacie Clavelle with 30 assists.
“We also had great defensive play by Montana Robles and Maddie Triplett, who combined for 40 digs,” Mertle said.
Fort Bragg will learn Sunday where it has been seeded in the North Coast Section Division 4 playoff field and who and where it will be playing in the first round.
Kelseyville (5-8), fielding only seven players for the second match in a row, was led by Jayden Paulich with 18 digs and 12 assists, and Larue Furlani with eight kills.
McCallister also praised the passing and serving of Maddy Madrzyk and the improved play of Elizabeth Walker.
The Knights close out their league schedule and season Thursday night at home against Willits.
Fort Bragg beat Kelseyville 25-17, 25-20 in the junior varsity match.
