6 Pioneer High School girls volleyball players presented with Golden Empire League awards
Shaun Holkko posted: "After sharing the Golden Empire League championship with two other teams in 2022, the Pioneer High School girls varsity volleyball team earned the title outright with a perfect record in league play. The Patriots were 27-5 overall with a 12-0 record in" Daily Democrat
After sharing the Golden Empire League championship with two other teams in 2022, the Pioneer High School girls varsity volleyball team earned the title outright with a perfect record in league play.
The Patriots were 27-5 overall with a 12-0 record in GEL play this past season. Pioneer went on an 18-game winning streak and did not lose a single set against GEL opposition. The season came to an end on Oct. 24 at Ponderosa in the first round of the Division III CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Volleyball Playoffs.
Six Patriots were recognized by the GEL for their play during the 2023 season. Senior outside hitter Cayley Brown was chosen as the league's Most Valuable Player. Sophomores, outside hitter Ally Nunez & setter Marisa Bryson, and senior middle hitter Olivia Gill were selected to the All-GEL first team. Senior MH Annika Miller and freshman libero Layla Medalle earned respective spots on the GEL second team.
"It goes to show the hard work of the season and everything they put in, all the dedication," explained coach Annie Carter. "It's a big time commitment for them. We're in the gym everyday for 2-3 hours so they worked really hard and earned those spots."
Brown was the lone volleyball player from Woodland invited to compete in the annual Optimist All-Star game, which occurred on Dec. 2 at Capital Christian High School. However, she was unable to play after breaking a bone in her left foot. Brown suffered the injury during the regular season finale at Woodland and attempted to play through it in the postseason.
The sensational senior led the GEL in kills by a landslide with 379, which was 217 more than the runner-up. Brown ranked second in hitting percentage (0.337), eighth in serving aces (65) and ninth in digs (171).
"I think it was a well-deserved achievement for (Brown)," Carter said. "She worked really hard all year. She was the player that no team really had an answer for on offense or defense. She was one of the bigger parts of our game and one of the reasons why we were successful this year."
Nunez earned a first team nod by finishing third in digs (295), fourth in aces (74) and eighth in kills (99).
"Ally brings relentless defense and consistency in the back row on serve receive," Carter explained. "Defense is probably the biggest part of her game right now. She's still young so we're still working on consistency in the front row. She'll be playing in the offseason and she'll come back and bring that relentless defense back next year."
Similar to Brown, Bryson was the GEL leader in assists by a mile. The superb sophomore recorded 804 dimes, tallying 547 more than second place. She was also first in aces (94) and 10th in digs (154). The achievement is Bryson's second All-GEL first team selection of the calendar year following her freshman softball season in the spring.
"I think nominating Marisa was a no-brainer," Carter proclaimed. "Setters are a really important part of the game, they're like a quarterback in football. If you don't have a good, consistent setter then the players like Cayley, Olivia, Annika and Ally can't do what they do if she doesn't hustle and be consistent."
Earlier this year, Gill was named the basketball GEL MVP. Now she adds a volleyball first team selection after ranking third in blocks (33), fourth in kills (150) and seventh in hitting (0.145%).
"(Gill) really came through in crucial moments with really big kills," Carter recalled. "When she gets up, reaches high and she's on top of the ball, it's really hard to pick up that ball on the other side of the net. She got big kills for us all year so that was a really good add to our game."
Miller received a second team selection after finishing fifth in kills (134) and hitting (0.232%), respectively, and tied for seventh in blocks (15) with two other players.
"That was awesome for Annika. It was a new position for her. At the beginning, she was a little apprehensive about being a middle because she hadn't done it before," Carter recalled. "She really dug in, worked hard and improved each and every day in the gym. Towards the middle of the season she became a go-to hitter for us. She's really smart at the net and that's what got her a lot of kills.
"I think her dedication to wanting to get better at a position that she's not use to, especially so late in her volleyball career, was really good for us."
Medalle earned a spot on the second team as a freshman by ranking seventh in both digs (187) and assists (22).
"Layla has a lot of game experience and she's very calm, which is good for a libero to have because they don't get worked up about the big kills and serves," Carter explained. "I feel like her game experience mixed with her mellow demeanor really helped her get through the season because it's a big jump from middle school to varsity in the game pace and speed. The fact that she was able to make that jump and excel, continue to get better and make a lot of saves that she did for us was very impressive."
Brown, Gill, Miller, opposite hitter Marissa Christian and defensive specialist Bella Mousakheel are the five Pioneer seniors departing in the Class of 2024 this spring. Bryson, Medalle, Nunez and four other Patriots will be back for next year, Pioneer's first in the Monticello Empire League.
"We're going to be missing really big parts of our team but that happens every year," Carter foreshadowed. "Players always seem to step up and rise into those roles. It'll be interesting to see who plays, gets better and will step into those roles next year. It may not be exactly the same but your teams are never the same year to year. We'll see who steps up. I'm excited to see what players get better, come out and are ready to grind again next year."
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