Ellie Allen, Varsity Volleyball, 12th Grade. Photo by ISABEL ANZALDO
The varsity volleyball team went the absolute distance in grabbing the match victory.
On August 27, the Lady Broncs travelled to McFarland to play the match. They trailed after two sets in match being down 2-0. It was then a furious comeback attempt ensued. They lost the first two sets 25-17 and 25-19. Kern Valley showed determination as they came together as a team and started the rally. The third set went to the Lady Broncs 25-23 to cut the match lead in half. The fourth set battle favored the Lady Broncs 25-18 to send the match to the deciding fifth set. With momentum on their side the Kern Valley was able to win the match in convincing manner 15-8.
This match consisted of many rallies between the two squads. This is evident by the low number of service aces. Leading the was for the Lady Broncs was Ava Elliott with three aces. Paisley Wilkins delivered a pair of aces, while Jessie Bunting, Ellie Allen, and Ruby Hawkings each had one serving ace in the match. As a team Kern Valley amassed 49 kills in the five sets. Hawkings led the squad with 22 kills. Bunting followed with 15 kills at the net. Elli Jeans finished with four kills, while Allen had three kills in the match. Scarlett Weber and Elliott each had two kills and Wilkins rounded out the offense with one kill for her team.
On the defensive side of the ball the Lady Broncs totaled 46 assists, 43 digs, and four blocks. This kept them in the match. Wilkins contributed 44 of the 46 assists. Alex Armes recorded the other two assists. Elliott was the top player in digs with 15. Jeans contributed eight digs, while Armes had seven. Jayda Bushling got in on the digs action with five. Allen collected four digs, while Hawkings was credited with three digs. Wilkins capped the digs with two. Finishing off the defense was Hawkings. She recorded a pair of blocks at the net. Weber had one block for the Lady Broncs.
Two days later Kern Valley entertained Del Oro at home. They would sweep the sets and claim the match. They took the match lead with a 25-8 win in the first set. The Lady Broncs followed that up with a 25-11 victory in set two to take the commanding 2-0 lead in the match. They finished off the set sweep with a 25-13 win.
Individual stats for Kern Valley. Serving aces: Wilkins 4, Bunting 4, Elliott 2, Hawkings 1, Jeans 1, Armes 1. Kills: Hawkings 13, Bunting 7, Weber 3, Elliott 2, Ellie Fannon 1. Assists: Wilkins 16, Leenah Troller 9, Bunting 1. Digs: Bushling 7, Wilkins 4, Jeans 2, Bunting 2, Armes 2, Allen 1, Elliott 1, Weber 1, Mille Bustamonte 1. Blocks: Hawkings 1.
The Lady Broncs completed their sweep of matches as they stayed at home to play Immanuel. The Lady Broncs dominated the match and won the match in three sets. Set scored were 25-13, 25-10, and the finishing set was 25-9. All facets of the game were in play as the Kern Valley squad took control at the start and never looked back to win their third straight match. The match victory put the Lady Broncs at 4-2 on the year.
Individual stats for the Lady Broncs. Serving aces: Jeans 3, Hawkings 1, Armes 1. Kills: Hawkings 10, Weber 6, Bunting 5, Elliott 4, Allen 4, Jeans 3. Assists: Troller 20, Armes 4, Bunting 2. Digs: Bushling 6, Troller 5, Elliott 3, Hawkings 3, Armes 3, Wilkins 4, Jeans 2, Allen 2, Bustamonte 2, Fannon 1. Blocks: Bunting 1, Weber 1.
The Lady Broncs played in the Mammoth Tournament over the weekend. They were able to win one, but surrendered five losses. No individual stats were made available. Head coach Jamie Duran on the tournament said, “We had moments where we played Broncs volleyball and moments where we didn’t play our game. Moving into league this week, we will focus on consistency in playing our game.”
The Lady Broncs have another busy week as they opened up HDL action in Bishop on Tuesday. Two days later they will go on the road to Mammoth for their second league match. Then they will play in the Cal City the following day and finish it off on Saturday.
