The California High School JVA volleyball team hosted Bunceton Tuesday, Sept. 2, where the Lady Pintos defeated the Lady Dragons' varsity team 25-7 and 25-8. (Bunceton is in it's first year of the volleyball program.)
Carlie Bleich had nine aces, six assists and one dig for California. Chloe Schenewerk had two kills, three digs and two assists, and Leanna Reichl contributed three kills and three digs. Brittney Ellington had two kills and two digs, and Caitlin Halsey had six aces. Brooke Lage contributed three aces and one dig.
California hosted Eldon Thursday night, where both the varsity and JVA teams captured a win. The varsity Lady Pintos defeated the Lady Mustangs 25-15 and 25-5.
"I'm proud of how well all of our girls played," California Head Coach Julie Bailey said. "They came together as a team to get the win."
Adrienne Strickfaden had four kills, seven digs, four blocks and one ace for California. Cameron Meyer had five kills, six digs and one ace. Emma Bailey had four digs, two kills, 12 assists and one ace, and Kayla Allison had nine digs and one kill. Madilyn Safley contributed two aces, seven digs, five assists and one kill, and Paige Halsey had six kills. Morgan Henley chipped in with five digs and one ace.
"Our passing was strong and gave our offense a chance to play and hit with power," Bailey said. "Hopefully we can build on this win and continue to improve."
California's JVA won 25-10 and 25-19.
Bleich had five aces, three kills, three digs, four assists and one block. Schenewerk had five aces, two kills, six digs and one block. Ellie Wirts had three kills and eight digs, and Lage had six kills, one dig and one assist. Ellington contributed eight digs, one kill and four aces.
California's JVB match ended in a split. The Lady Pintos won the first game 25-9, then lost the second game 21-25.
California's varsity participated in the Fulton Tournament Saturday. In pool play, the Lady Pintos' first match, against Fulton, ended in a split 25-23 and 19-25. California's next match, against Savannah, ended in a split 19-25 and 25-22. The Lady Pintos then defeated Owensville 25-21 and 25-23.
In tournament play, California defeated Bowling Green 27-7 and 25-15, then lost to Fatima 19-25 and 19-25.
"The girls worked hard and got better as the day continued," Bailey said. "This tournament always helps us prepare for the rest of the season because it gives us the opportunity to see our strengths and weaknesses, so we know what we need to focus on in our upcoming games."
In total at the tourney, Strickfaden had 18 kills, seven digs, three blocks and five aces for California, and Halsey had 19 kills and seven blocks. Meyer had 13 kills, seven digs and five aces, and Emma Bailey had 28 assists, six kills, 21 digs and seven aces. Safley contributed 26 assists, eight kills, 21 digs and two aces, and Allison had 32 digs, three kills and two aces.
California hosted Cole Camp Monday, Sept. 8, where the JVB captured a match win, 25-27, 25-15 and 25-16.
"JVB did a fantastic job against Cole Camp," California Coach Maggie Long said. "The girls worked hard and really came together as a team. Maria Lemus did a great job of covering the court. She had 10 digs, 10 assists and two kills."
Lemus also had seven aces. Caitlin Halsey had six kills, two assists, one dig and three aces. Taylor Geiser had four kills, three digs and one ace, and Brooklyn Ford contributed seven aces, two kills, three digs and one assist. Katelyn McClelland had five digs, three aces and one kill.
California's varsity lost 28-26, 13-25 and 23-25 to the Lady Bluebirds.
"Cole Camp has an excellent team," Coach Bailey said. "I'm proud of how well our girls played. We were evenly matched, and even though we played outstanding, we just weren't able to win. If we continue to play at this level, we will be successful."
Meyer had 11 kills, four blocks and two aces for California, while Strickfaden had eight kills and three aces. Halsey contributed 11 kills and four blocks, and Safley had 15 assists and 15 digs. Allison chipped in with 16 digs and two kills, and Emma Bailey had 13 assists, nine digs, one kill and one block.
California's JVA lost 19-25 and 17-25.
The Lady Pintos will host Blair Oaks Thursday beginning with the JVB match at 5:30 p.m.