Ramona High spikers fall to San Pasqual, Del Norte

By Joe Naiman

Ramona High School’s boys volleyball team lost Valley League matches April 16 at San Pasqual and April 18 against Del Norte.

The two defeats left Ramona with a league record of 1-5 along with an overall mark of 16-15.

“I know the guys are frustrated and at times they’re getting a little down,” said coach Jeff Klauda. “But they’ve been so competitive every single game.”

The loss to San Pasqual was the Bulldogs’ first three-game defeat in league play and only their second best-of-five sweep loss this season.

“We just came out so flat,” Klauda said.

The Golden Eagles won 25-23, 25-17, and 25-16 games.

“The first game was the only one that was really close,” said Klauda.

Ramona had a lead during game one before the rotation became more favorable to San Pasqual.

“It was just giving up huge runs of points,” Klauda said. “We would just get stuck and weren’t able to sideout.”

The loss to Del Norte was in four games.

“It was the exact opposite as far as the feel, the energy,” Klauda said. “The guys were loose, they were excited, they had a lot of energy.”

Ramona also faced an opponent who hadn’t lost to anybody else in league competition. The Nighthawks won the first game by a 25-21 margin before Ramona prevailed in game two by a 33-31 overscore.

“We kind of went back and forth for a long time,” Klauda said.

Outside hitter Josh Spieker, who had 24 kills during the match, had 10 of those in the second game. Middle blocker Reed Hallams had six kills and only one hitting error in the second game; Hallams ended the match with 13 kills.

Del Norte took a 25-21 victory in the third game. The Bulldogs had a 20-16 lead in the fourth game and later came back from a deficit to tie the contest at 24 points apiece. The Nighthawks won the game 26-24 and improved their league record to 6-0.

“The guys played very well, played very good defense,” Klauda said of his Bulldogs.

Del Norte also won the April 10 match at Ramona in four games, concluding that day with a 25-19 victory. Ramona won the first game April 10 before the Nighthawks triumphed in the remaining three.

The Bulldogs played the April 16 and April 18 matches without middle blocker Lance Stickney, who rolled an ankle during the final day of the April 12-13 Scripps Ranch Tournament. Levi Vermeulen was Ramona’s other starting middle blocker in the matches against San Pasqual and Del Norte. Vermeulen’s performance against the Nighthawks included five kills in 13 swings and only two hitting errors.

Ramona’s setter, Isaiah Spieker, had a season high of 58 assists against Del Norte. Outside hitter Davis Windes added nine kills while opposite hitter Cody Kealy had seven kills.

The Bulldogs host Orange Glen in Thursday’s match.

“If they keep working hard enough we’ll be able to break through and get some wins in league,” Klauda said.