The La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School girls volleyball team found last week to its liking.
In action last Wednesday, LJCD traveled to Horizon for a league match, having lost to their league foes two weeks earlier in a five-game match. This time around, the Lady Torreys cruised to victory.
In tourney play at the recent Scripps Ranch Invitational, LJCD was a little inconsistent with its play, resulting in a 4-3 record.
LJCD opened play against Escondido, Rancho Buena Vista and Calvin Christian. LJCD fell to 2-1 after Friday night, with the lone victory coming against Calvin.
Saturday morning began with three straight victories over Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo and Patrick Henry.
The Lady Torreys lost in the semifinals of the consolation bracket to Mission Hills. Janae Fulcher was named to the All-Tourney team.
Setters Mary Mack, Tammy Batzofin and Haley Wilson had an excellent week. According to head coach Peter Ogle, middle blockers Jasmine Edwards and Jordan Krant are really starting to become a force in the middle.
Outside hitters Claire Kaufman, Jessie Hershfield, Andie Sabourin, Grace Murk and Fulcher are getting key kills for the Lady Torreys, while back row players Cheyenne Giesecke and Kenna Foltz are passing very well.
At The Bishop’s School, the Lady Knights under head coach Tod Mattox headed into play this week with a mark of 20-2 overall, 3-1 in the Coastal League South.
Bishop’s won the Scripps Ranch Invitational recently, defeating Vista in the final, 2-0. Natalia Wrobel was All-Tournament, and Katherine Fiedler was the Tourney MVP. Ina Kamenova, Bishop’s outside hitter, also enjoyed an outstanding tournament, both offensively and defensively (12 aces, 31 kills and 29 digs on day two).
In action last Wednesday, Bishop’s lost to Francis Parker, 3-1. According to Mattox, this was a disappointing loss, given that the team relinquished leads in both game one (22-19) and game two (16-10).
“On the positive side, even with those disappointing losses, we recovered and won game three before Parker ended the match in game four,” Mattox said. “Julie Gantz had an outstanding serving match, and Alex Pell was exceptional in her role as DS (designated setter).”
Last weekend Bishop’s finished the Beach City Invitational at La Jolla High. The Lady Knights were 3-0 in pool play, defeating Brawley, Gahr and Shadowridge (Las Vegas) all in two games.
In action on day two, Bishop’s topped Baldwin of Pennsylvania (25-21, 25-22), Escondido (25-17, 25-14), lost to Esperanza, (25-27, 14-25) and defeated San Dieguito Academy (25-19, 25-13) to finish third overall.
Gantz and Laurel Casey were voted All-Tourney.
“Julie did an exceptional job, stepping in for Natalia Wrobel, who was on a recruiting trip,” Mattox noted.
Nicole Ballon-Landa led the Lady Knights with 22 kills on the day, and Devin Nelson (14 kills, four blocks) and Jacqueline Rhodes (13 kills, nine digs) also contributed.
“In general, at 20-2, we are pleased with our progress to date, but we are well aware that one outstanding team will not make the State Playoffs in Division IV,” Mattox noted. “Our goal is to make incremental improvements each and every day.”
La Jolla High also competed in the Beach City Invitational and saw action in several matches in the Gold Division, won by Vista Murrieta.
The Lady Vikings lost in the quarterfinals to San Dieguito Academy 2-0. In round one, La Jolla topped Brawley 2-0. In the consolation round for fifth place, Santa Fe Christian defeated La Jolla.