[New post] Pioneer High School girls volleyball team sweeps Dixon to preserve undefeated league record
Shaun Holkko posted: "All winning streaks eventually come to an end, which was the case for the Pioneer High School girls varsity volleyball team's 18-match streak this week. The Patriots (23-4, 8-0 Golden Empire League) lost in a thrilling five sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 2" Daily Democrat
All winning streaks eventually come to an end, which was the case for the Pioneer High School girls varsity volleyball team's 18-match streak this week.
The Patriots (23-4, 8-0 Golden Empire League) lost in a thrilling five sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 6-15) on Monday night at Vacaville. The match provided Pioneer with a challenging preview of what's to come next year in the Monticello Empire League.
"It was really good to see a team that looked like us," explained coach Annie Carter. "Their hitters and servers were great. It was good to see them get pushed, that's what they needed, is to learn. We haven't had a learning experience in a while so I think it was good for them."
Following the Patriots first loss since Aug. 26, Pioneer played at Dixon on Wednesday night in GEL play.
"We viewed this as a bounce-back kinda game," said senior middle hitter Olivia Gill. "They're definitely a team that can put up a good fight but I don't think we played the way we played against Vacaville here."
The Patriots rebounded in a big way with a three-set sweep (25-13, 25-10, 25-15) of the Rams (13-14, 5-4).
"It was good that we were able to stay out of our heads that we just lost a game and come into this one to win it," explained senior middle hitter Annika Miller. "We were doing really good and that was our first loss in a while so it's good that we didn't let it affect our play."
Pioneer senior defensive specialist Bella Mousakheel serves during a 3-0 win at Dixon on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Dixon. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)
Pioneer senior middle hitter Annika Miller kills the ball during a 3-0 win at Dixon on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Dixon. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)
Pioneer freshman libero Layla Medalle delivers the ball during a 3-0 win at Dixon on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Dixon. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)
Pioneer junior setter Peyton Thorpe prepares to tip the ball over the net during a 3-0 win at Dixon on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Dixon. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)
Pioneer senior outside hitter Cayley Brown leaps for an attempted spike during a 3-0 win at Dixon on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Dixon. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)
Pioneer has not lost a single set in GEL competition so far this season.
"Overall, there was a couple lapses in consistency but I think we are starting to see the leveling out and we're less super up and super down," Carter said. "You're kinda seeing that there is a little fluctuation but they're still staying at a level of play that's good because that's what we've been working on all season. Everybody got in today which is always nice for those players who don't always get to play a lot and they did really well also.
"I think we tend to play really well at the beginning of the match and then we get complacent when we get a larger lead. We start to make little errors that we wouldn't normally make if it were a closer match. We just need to keep up the level of play no matter what the score looks like. At this age, that's really hard for them."
Senior outside hitter Cayley Brown tallied a game-high in kills with 14-of-30 for the Patriots. Miller and Gill had seven and four, respectively. Sophomore outside hitter Ally Nunez added three.
"Olivia did well on the net blocking. Annika did well swinging," Carter recalled. "Layla had a good match, she had a lot of really good passes. Even if she did make an error, the next ball was right on so she didn't let that error sink in or interrupt her play at all."
Brown racked up another game-high for Pioneer with 8-of-20 serving aces. Sophomore setter Marisa Bryson and freshman libero Layla Medalle recorded four each and Nunez contributed three.
"Cayley and Bryson played really well," Gill said. "Bryson made sure to get there the whole game. Even if she made a mistake serving, she didn't get in her head. Cayley also had great swings today and her serving was on top of it."
The Patriots tallied five total blocked shots. Gill and Nunez rejected two each and Miller sent back one. Bryson recorded a game-high with 25-of-29 assists for Pioneer. Medalle and junior setter Peyton Thorpe contributed the other two.
Nunez led the way in digs for the Patriots with 13-of-34. Brown and Bryson racked up six, respectively. Medalle added four and junior defensive specialist Sofia Hernandez had three.
Pioneer has four games remaining on its regular season schedule before playoffs begin. The Patriots host Rio Linda (4-13, 2-7) on Monday and Mira Loma (11-8, 6-3) on Wednesday, both beginning at 6:30 p.m. Pioneer will honor five seniors before playing the Matadors on Senior Night.
"I think if we continue to play together as a team and out of our heads, we have a really high chance of staying undefeated (in league play)," Miller foreshadowed.
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