Lingleville Lady Cardinals extended their winning streak to nine last week after a pair of wins over Rising Star and Gustine.
The battle against Rising Star Oct. 8 was a tough one as Lingleville claimed sets one and two in narrow 26-24 and 25-23 finishes. The Lady Cards outlasted the competition as they claimed set 3 25- 11.
“This was a really tough fight with Rising Star,” admitted head Lingleville volleyball coach Brandon Haught. “They have such a young talented team and have a really difficult zero-block defense to attack. We were down 9 to 18 in the first, before charging all the way back to take it. The second set was more of the same. We found ourselves down 0 to 6 and trailed at that deficit for the majority of the set.”
Lingleville dug its way out of that gap thanks to strong serving by senior players.
Stat leaders were Madison Howle (14 kills), Kenleigh Jones (12 kills & 15 digs), Dylan Gibson (28 assists), and Denise Toledo with 17 digs.
The Lady Cards followed this with a three set victory over Gustine Oct. 12. Gustine scored 9, 20 and 11 as Lingleville scored three winning 25s. Haught reported that the team didn’t suffer any signs of sluggishness for the Saturday morning match and was motivated from the first serve.
Stat leaders for that game were Madison Howle and Kenleigh Jones with 12 kills each. Dylan Gibson had 26 assists and 5 aces. Haught also named Gibson as the player of the week.
“It’s great to continue the streak to 9 and start the first round of district undefeated, but I don’t think anyone is satisfied yet,” he added, indicating the team’s strong resolve won’t be swayed.
The Jr. High and JV squads also beat Rising Star in their game Oct. 8. Haught said Neveah Jacinto and Olivia Miller were the JH players of the game while Jazmin Martinez was for JV.
The Jr. High girls also claimed first place in the Oct. 12 Dublin JH volleyball tournament, winning games over Dublin, Stephenville and Early. “Congrats to Remi Wilson, Reesleigh Wilson, Olivia Miller, Angie Tamayo, Bryln Kirchenschlager, Piper Rives, Neveah Jacinto and Mya Aviles,” said Haught. “Coach Lauren Wilson continues to do amazing things with our sub-varsity kiddos!”