Novice girls volleyball team reaches semifinals at tournament
By Joe Naiman
Ramona High School organized a novice girls volleyball tournament that was played October 15 at the Epic Volleyball Center in Poway, and Ramona’s team reached the quarterfinals before a loss to La Costa Canyon.
“We continue to beat teams that we’re not supposed to beat,” said Coach Leasa Roulier. “They played better and better each game in the tournament.”
Twenty teams competed in the tournament, which began with pool play competition. Ramona won its pool on a tiebreaker despite losing to Rancho Buena Vista. The Bulldogs began pool play by defeating San Marcos and Otay Ranch before falling to RBV in three games.
The tiebreaker for pool positions if two teams have identical records is the teams’ record in games played, and Ramona was more successful than the Longhorns in that statistic.
The elimination matches were one game. Ramona played Carlsbad in the quarterfinals and took a 25-16 victory, which is believed to be the first match win over Carlsbad for any team in the Ramona freshman volleyball program.
“My team continuously improves both in their abilities and in the way they play as a team,” Roulier said.
The semifinals saw La Costa Canyon take a 25-17 victory over Ramona to end the Bulldogs’ on-court participation. The other gold division semifinal was Cathedral Catholic’s 25-16 win over Scripps Ranch. La Costa Canyon won the tournament championship with a 25-13 victory over Cathedral in the finals.
Oceanside won the silver division championship with a 25-22 triumph over Otay Ranch in the finals. The championship was the first for any Oceanside volleyball team since Ramona varsity coach and tournament organizer Connie Halfaker took over the Bulldogs in 1999.
“They showed every team there how to be a team and how to be a positive representative for their sport and their school,” Halfaker said, adding that the Pirates also displayed sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
Ramona libero Claire Hagan was named to the all-tournament team La Costa Canyon outside hitter Casey Jacobs was the tournament’s most valuable player, and the all-tournament team also included La Costa Canyon’s Jessica Aiken, Cathedral players Caroline Epperson and Maddie Bloum, Scripps Ranch’s Jordan Mateo, and Oceanside’s Anoi Elisara.
Ramona’s junior varsity team members and their parents operated the snack bar during the tournament.