The California High School volleyball teams traveled to Warsaw Tuesday, Sept. 9, where the varsity and both JV teams netted a win.
California's varsity defeated the Lady Wildcats 25-12 and 25-7.
"We had some issues with serving and serve reception in the first set," California Coach Julie Bailey said. "We were able to clean that up in the second set, and as our passing improved, we were able to utilize our hitters for a more dominant win in the second set."
Madilyn Safley had seven aces, three digs and two assists for California. Emma Bailey had four digs, four assists and one ace, and Paige Halsey had five kills and one block. Kayla Allison contributed six digs, and Adrienne Strickfaden and Cameron Meyer each had two kills and one ace.
The JVA Lady Pintos won their match 25-9 and 25-21.
"Warsaw was tough to beat in the second set," California Coach Sarah Hays said. "One of their players aced us five or six times."
Ellie Wirts had three kills, four digs and one ace for California. Brooke Lage had two kills, five digs, one block and one ace, and Monica Whitson had four assists, two kills, two digs and four aces. Carlie Bleich contributed five aces, five assists and two digs, and Brittney Ellington had five digs and three aces. Chloe Schenewerk chipped in with five digs and one kill.
California's JVB defeated Warsaw 25-12 and 25-17.
"The girls did great," California Coach Maggie Long said. "They communicated well and worked as a team. It's been fun to watch this team improve; they just keep getting better."
Maria Lemus led California with eight aces, two kills and two digs. Caitlin Halsey had six aces, two assists and one dig, and Addison Embry had one kill, one dig and one block. Abby Porter chipped in with two aces, and Ashley Leyva had two digs.
California hosted Blair Oaks Thursday night, where the varsity Lady Pintos played one of their finest matches of the season as they took what the Lady Falcons dished out, then dished it back with consequences. California finished Blair Oaks off in two sets, 25-13 and 25-20.
"I could not be prouder of the way the girls played," Bailey said. "They played together as a team and were able to get the win. Paige Halsey had an excellent game at the net and played smart."
Halsey had nine kills and one block for California. Strickfaden had five kills and seven aces, and Emma Bailey had nine assists, four kills and five digs. Safley contributed seven digs, two kills and nine assists, and Allison had four digs, one ace and one assist.
California's JVA lost 18-25 and 13-25.
Ellington had three kills and five aces for California. Lage had two kills and four digs, and Bleich had four assists, six digs and one ace. Schenewerk had two kills, three digs and two aces, and Wirts had five digs and two kills.
The JVB Lady Pintos lost 25-21, 8-25 and 3-25.
"The girls started out really strong against Blair Oaks and played the best I've seen, however, we slowly lost our momentum and got too deep into a hole," Coach Long said. "This loss will only make us stronger."
Taylor Geiser led California with 10 digs, one ace and three kills. Caitlin Halsey had three kills, four digs, one ace and one assist. Maria Lemus had five assists and seven digs, and Brooklyn Ford had four digs and one ace.
California traveled to Centralia Monday night, where the Lady Pintos captured three match wins. California's varsity won 25-19 and 25-16. The JVB Lady Pintos won 25-21 and 26-25, and the JVA won 24-26, 25-13 and 25-16.
California will play at Eugene Thursday. The JVB match will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the JVA and varsity matches to follow, respectively.