As October turned to November, a number of Mission Bay fall sports teams saw their seasons either come to an end or move a step closer to that conclusion. Boys beach volleyball
Head coach Nikki Caufield’s squad was seeded into the Division II playoffs at the end of league play.
After a first-round bye, the Bucs played Sage Creek in the semifinal match and won 5-0. “Sage Creek ended up being short-handed and our top two teams pulled out solid wins to give us a 5-0 victory,” Caufield commented. The Bucs then went on to play Poway High in the Division II finals, seeking to repeat as the Division II champions. Mission Bay lost 4-1, as the team of Zander Caufield/Andy Knight posted a 2-1 victory. “We knew that the Poway High team was comprised largely of juniors and seniors with almost the entire team being club volleyball players,” Nikki Caufield remarked. “It would pose a tough matchup for our very young squad. Our teams of Dusty Schraeder/Ian Briski and Stephen Tarbell/Cody Armstrong played really close matches and nearly posted upset victories in probably their strongest matches of the year.” According to Caufield, next year, the Bucs will return everyone except for their lone senior, Tarbell. “I think we are going to be a strong squad,” Caufield added. On Oct. 27, the teams of Schraeder/Briski and Zander Caufield/Knight both broke pool in the boys’ varsity individual team championship to make the gold bracket finals on Nov. 1. Girls volleyball
Head coach Steve Upp’s squad finished its regular season with an impressive win over Mira Mesa. Seniors Kim Hollaway and Shelby Moore played key roles in the victory for their last home game as Bucs.
During the final match, there was a rotation where the three players in the front row were all freshmen. That trio was comprised of Mila Anderson, Jerne Ward and Maya Jeese.
Mission Bay ended up the 12th seed in Division II and was slated to play a very strong Steele Canyon squad in the first round CIF’s this week. “After moving up from Division III this year it is quite an accomplishment for this very young squad,” Upp remarked. Girls tennis Mission Bay came into the week with an overall record of 9-5, 9-3 in league play for head coach Trong Tong.
The Bucs got points from Rosina Valia and Amanda Edmunds (No. 1 doubles) in the team’s CIF match.
Mission Bay qualified for Team CIF but had to play the top seed for the second straight year. The Bucs fell 16-2 to Vincent Memorial with a much-depleted team. According to Tong, honorable mentions go to Edmunds, Ashley Sydenstricker, Jeanne Picard, Luz Zayetzi Bojorquez-Pinuelas, Valia, and Sophia Gillenberg for competing until the very last point in an uphill battle. Mission Bay was to move on to League finals this week, and then hopefully Individual CIF next week.
