Local scholastic volleyball teams like The Bishop’s School know how important it is to be playing well down the stretch. The Lady Knights are doing just that.
In recent action, Bishop’s faced a talented Santa Fe Christian team and prevailed in three straight games, 25-14, 29-27, 25-18. Nicole Ballon-Landa led Bishop’s with nine kills. Natalia Wrobel directed a balanced offense with 34 assists, and Julie Gantz (three aces, no errors) and Faith Eischen (two aces) provided tough serving that kept SFC off-balance during the entire match.
In action last week, Bishop’s faced the Coastal North Champions, San Dieguito Academy, prevailing, 25-21, 25-15, 25-11. According to Bishop’s head coach Tod Mattox, Gantz was excellent, tallying 32 assists along with four aces. Ina Kamenova was efficient with eight kills and 10 digs, and Alex Pell was the outstanding defender.
Those wins extend the team’s record to 27-2 (7-1 Coastal South), heading into the final week of the regular season.
“Our players have done a great job of making incremental improvements, and we are planning to play our best volleyball of the season in the coming weeks,” Mattox noted.
Meantime, La Jolla High was able to step up and compete with the Los Angeles area schools in the Redondo Power Classic last weekend.
Despite missing its two senior captains, Dana Hoolko and Cameron Smith, on Saturday due to ACT testing, the Lady Vikings finished second in their pool Friday night and fought through two tough losses on Saturday.
Senior middle blocker Jennifer Keane finished the tournament with 26 kills, while senior defensive specialist Kate Bowman added 15 digs.
Younger players who stepped up included sophomores Amanda Gordon, Karly Deer and Caitlin Parmer, as well as freshmen Haley Cameron and Gracie Drozda. La Jolla libero Amanda Gordon finished with 34 digs and 59 service receptions, while Deer recorded 83 assists, and Parmer added a team-high 40 digs. Cameron contributed 10 kills from the middle and led the team with eight blocks, while Drozda tacked on nine kills from the outside.
As a result, La Jolla moves to an overall record this season of 18-11; after its league win last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings also move one step closer to securing a second-place Western League finish behind Cathedral with a current Western League record of 8-3.
Elsewhere, La Jolla Country Day School had a tough time last week with the loss of Jasmine Edwards to a knee injury.
The Lady Torreys lost to Parker on Wednesday and to Canyon Crest on Friday, both 3-0.