Ava Elliott, 12th Grade. Photo by Isabel Anzaldo
The Lady Broncs varsity volleyball has put themselves in prime position to contend for the league title.
They have won nine straight matches and came up big with a pair of victories last week. They took care of Cal City on Oct. 1 and followed that with a huge win over Bishop two days later. The Cal City match marked the end of the first round of HDL action in which Kern Valley went 6-1. Winning the match versus Bishop kept them in a virtual tie with Mammoth for the top spot. Both teams are 7-1 with six to play. The big matchup that could decide the league title was played on Tuesday when Mammoth (7-1) came to town.
In the Cal City match, the Lady Broncs had to go the distance to earn the victory. The five-set match saw both teams work hard for their points. The Lady Ravens took the early lead in the match as they won the first set 26-24. Kern Valley bounced back to grab the next two sets to take the match lead 2-1. The second set score was 25-20, while the third set was 25-17. Cal City battled to send it to the decider as they won the fourth set 25-19. In the decider, the Lady Broncs came out on top with a 15-12 win to give them the match.
The service battle was even as Kern Valley recorded just seven aces in the five-set match. They were led by Elli Jeans with three aces. Alex Armes finished with a pair of aces, while Paisley Wilkins and Ava Elliott each had one service ace for the Lady Broncs. At the net, Kern Valley was able to put away 40 kills. Ruby Hawkings led the way with 16 kills. Jessie Bunting followed with 13, while Scarlett Weber finished with five kills. Elliott was credited with four kills, while Ellie Allen and Jeans each had one kill.
Ruby Hawkings and Elliott recorded blocks in the match. Hawkings had a pair of blocks, while Elliott had one. Wilkins had a team-high 35 assists to lead the Lady Broncs. Elliott and Jayda Bushling each had one assist. All nine players were able to record at least one dig in the match. Leading the way for Kern Valley was Bushling with 20. Wilkins followed with 17 digs, while Jeans finished with 13. Armes had 11 digs, Elliott recorded nine, and Hawkings had five. Allen and Weber each had two digs, while Hawkings capped the digs for Kern Valley with one.
The Lady Broncs head coach Jamie Duran said, “Paisley (Wilkins) had such a great match and our back row was consistent with their passes allowing the offense to work.”
Two days later Kern Valley was back at it with another tough match with Bishop. The Lady Broncs made sure this one did not go all five sets as they won the match in four. They began the match with a 25-19 win. They took a 2-0 lead with a second set win by the score of 27-25. The Lady Broncos extended the match to a fourth set by winning the third 25-18. But in the end the Lady Broncs were the better squad on this day. They closed out the match with a 25-18 set win.
Hawkings and Jeans shared the team lead in service aces with three apiece. Bushling delivered two aces, while Armes finished with one service ace. Kern Valley was led offensively at the net by Hawkings. She put down 17 kills to earn team points for the Lady Broncs. Bunting followed with 12 kills, while Allen recorded four kills. Elliott and Weber finished with three kills apiece, while Jeans capped the net play with one kill. Hawkings, Bunting, and Elliott each were credited with p ne block in the match for the Lady Broncs.
Wilkins once again was the team leader in assists with 37. Bushling had one and was the only other Kern Valley player to be credited with an assist. Bushling also was the team leader in digs with 20. Armes got in on the dig action with 12, while Jeans finished with 10 digs. Wilkins, Elliott, and Weber each had four digs, while Hawkings finished with three. Allen had a pair of digs, while Bunting had one in the match.
Duran said, “The Bishop match was magnetic with energy coming from our crowd and the Lady Broncs combined. We fought and took the win in four sets. Both wins required the girls to work together and to show fight.”
After the huge match with Mammoth that was played Tuesday, the Lady Broncs will go on the road to Boron on Thursday.
