Bulldogs reach semifinals of JV volleyball tournament

By JOE NAIMAN

Ramona High School’s junior varsity girls volleyball team reached the semifinals of the RB Roundup tournament on Oct. 8.

“We played really, really well. I can’t be more proud,” said Coach Kyle Adelman. “They came out and showed that they wanted to win.”

The RB Roundup was hosted by Rancho Bernardo High School. Ramona began pool play with a loss to Del Norte in the first game but won the next two games against the Nighthawks to take a three-game victory in the match.

The Bulldogs then took a two-game win over Fallbrook.

“We pretty much played full throttle the entire match,” Adelman said.

The final pool play match against Scripps Ranch ended in the Falcons’ favor, but Ramona’s 25-15 loss in the first game was followed by a 26-24 Bulldogs triumph and a 17-15 Scripps Ranch win in the third game.

Ramona’s 2-1 pool play record gave the Bulldogs second place in the pool and placed them in the gold bracket for elimination play, which consisted of one-game matches.

Ramona was seeded eighth among the 10 teams in the gold bracket and began the elimination rounds with a 25-20 win over Patrick Henry. That advanced the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals, where they played top-seeded Valley Center.

Although the Jaguars hadn’t lost a game during pool play, Ramona took a 25-21 victory to advance to the semifinals.

The Bulldogs and Falcons faced each other again in the semifinals. Scripps Ranch advanced to the finals with a 28-26 victory.

“It was really, really close the entire match,” Adelman said.

The match had several lead changes, and Scripps Ranch had a 24-20 lead before the Bulldogs staved off match point. The game was tied at 25 points apiece and the Bulldogs then took a 26-25 lead to earn match point.

The next point was a controversial one and was given to the Falcons, who then won the next two points to take the game and match.

“Just really, really proud of the way they played,” Adelman said.

Ramona setter Robyn Arthur was named to the all-tournament team.

“That tournament selection, at least in my mind, could have gone to anybody on my team. We needed all the pieces,” Adelman said.

Ramona organizes its own junior varsity tournament, which this year will be played Oct. 22 at the Epic Volleyball Center in Poway.