SAN RAFAEL — The Middletown Mustangs fell 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 to the San Rafael Bulldogs on Wednesday night in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 4 volleyball playoffs at San Rafael.
“They played good considering the competition,” Middletown head coach Vanessa Davis said. “I’m proud of them.”
Middletown (15-17), the No. 13 seed in the Division 4 field, finished fourth in the North Central League I standings this season and reached the postseason via the at-large route. Fourth-seeded San Rafael (16-11), the seventh-place finisher in the Marin County Athletic League, advances to Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
“I’m so happy we had one more opportunity to play together,” Davis said of her six seniors. “I’ve been working with some of them since they were 7 and they’re all young ladies now. They’re a great group and I’m going to miss them all.”
Makayla Mace, a sophomore, led the Mustangs with six kills on Wednesday.
“She had some good arm swings,” Davis said.
Senior Skylar Williams contributed five kills, 17 digs and a pair of aces while another senior, Ella Sust, finished with three kills, four assists and four service points.
“We had opportunities, but we also had our handful of errors, which was unfortunate,” Davis said.
Middletown held a five-point leader early on in the second set.
“My expectations were exceeded for this group,” Davis said of the Mustangs’ season as a whole.
Middletown will be in a rebuild mode next year with only two juniors on this year’s roster.
“We’re going to be really young,” she said.
