Kern Valley’s varsity volleyball team shows off the hardware as they took first place in the Bronze Division at the Cal City Tournament. Submitted photo.
The Kern Valley varsity volleyball team got started on the right path as they began HDL play in Bishop. They would best the Lady Broncos in five sets.
Its always good to get the first league win under your belt. Kern Valley went on the road to get it. Traveling to Bishop on Sept. 10, the Lady Broncs started slow as they lost the first set 25-23. They would battle back and tie the match at 1-1 by taking the second set 25-22. Bishop dominated in the third set as they won 25-13 to take the 2-1 advantage in sets. Kern Valley would not be denied in sending this match to the decider. They knotted up the match at two sets apiece with the 25-21 win in the fourth. Heading to the decider, the back-and-forth battle continued. In the end the Lady Broncs continued to earn team points and ended the match with a 15-12 win in the deciding set.
There was plenty of action in this match as the two teams took turns grinding out the sets. The Lady Broncs collected 34 kills in the match to aid their chance at victory. Ruby Hawkings had the hot hand for Kern Valley as she was credited with the team lead in kills with 16. She was followed by Jessie Bunting who delivered 12 kills. Elli Jeans and Ellie Allen each had a pair of kills, while Jayda Bushling and Ava Elliott each had one kill in the match.
In the match Kern Valley delivered only two aces. Hawkings sent both over the net at her opponent to record the aces. It was not for a lack of trying as the Lady Broncs served 98 times in the five sets. They recorded eight service errors and the two aces in those attempts.
Leading the defense for Kern Valley was Bunting who was strong at the net and recorded two blocks. Elliott was credited with one block. Paisley Wilkins was key in the match for the Lady Broncs as she amassed 25 assists. Bushling had three, while Leenah Troller and Alex Armes each had one assist. Showing a great deal of hustle, Kern Valley saw 10 of the 11 players that played in the match record a dig. The leader was Bushling with 20. Elliott had 15, while Jeans recorded 12. Wilkins and Armes each finished with nine digs, while Hawkings had six. Scarlett Weber, Allen and Bunting each had two digs, while Mille Bustamonte capped the defense with one dig.
Two days after the win in Bishop, the Lady Broncs were back on the road. This time they would head to Mammoth to take on the Lady Huskies. This was another five set decider match. Unfortunately, Kern Valley would come up short and drop the match in five sets. The Lady Broncs took the first set 25-23, dropped the next two 25-19 and 25-21, and bounced back to grab the fourth set 25-20. With the match all knotted up the two teams went to the decider. This was close all the way, but in the end, Mammoth came away with the win 17-15.
Individual stats for the Lady Broncs were: Serving aces-Jeans 4, Armes 2, Bushling 1, Elliott 1, Hawkings 1, Wilkins 1. Kills: Hawkings 23, Bunting 11, Elliott 4, Jeans 2, Allen 1, Weber 1. Blocks: Bunting 4, Hawkings 2, Elliott 1, Allen 1. Assists: Wilkins 38, Armes 1, Bushling 1. Digs: Bushling 26, Armes 18, Elliott 16, Jeans 15, Wilkins 7, Hawkings 4, Bunting 2, Allen 2.
The following day, the Lady Broncs were back on the court as they participated in the Cal City Tournament. On Friday Sept, 13 proved to be their unlucky day as they managed to win only one and dropped two to be put in the Bronze Division. Gathering some inner strength, Kern Valley came on strong the following day and took all three matches to claim first place in the Bronze Division. They defeated Eastside, and Taft before getting a little taste of revenge versus Mammoth. Kern Valley won that match and that propelled them to win the Bronze Division. The win over Mammoth marked the first time Kern Valley head coach Jamie Duran has ever beaten the Lady Huskies.
Kern Valley was back to individual HDL matches on Tuesday as they hosted Boron. They play at home on Thursday when they entertain the Lady Scorpions of Desert.
