Bulldog spikers sweep Patriots, fall to Nighthawks
By Joe Naiman
After 17 consecutive matches on the road, Ramona High School’s girls volleyball team had a home contest and beat Orange Glen in a three-game sweep.
The home contest on Oct. 23 followed the Bulldogs’ two road non-league matches, four road Valley League contests, and 11 neutral-site tournament matches.
The Bulldogs defeated the Patriots in 25-4, 25-7, and 25-7 games.
“We were very happy with the consistency we showed in that match,” said Coach Connie Halfaker. “We just really were very focused and error-free and did a good job of taking care of business the way we wanted to.”
The match’s statistics indicate that the large margin of victory was due to Ramona’s offensive success rather than to Orange Glen hitting errors. Callie Guasti had 10 kills and also had three blocks. Sammy Shupe provided nine serving aces, along with six digs and 14 assists, and Katie Flinn added seven aces. Sydney Hickle contributed five digs.
“We made very few errors, and we were in control very consistently throughout the match,” Halfaker said. “We created problems for them with our serves.”
The Bulldogs weren’t as successful Oct. 25 at home against Del Norte, as the Nighthawks prevailed in the 25-18, 25-19, 25-14 match.
“We didn’t make a lot of mistakes, but they were very clean and they were clicking on all cylinders,” Halfaker said.
“We were hoping to be more of an aggressive force and really push the match,” said the coach. “We played well, but we didn’t quite have a really aggressive match against Del Norte.”
The Bulldogs had implemented a rotation defense in response to Del Norte’s Oct. 9 league victory.
“We played well, and the new defense handled why they beat us last time,” Halfaker said. “It did correct what happened last time, but we just weren’t quite as aggressive as we needed to be to create points for ourselves.”
The loss to Del Norte left Ramona with a 3-3 league record and a 17-9 overall mark.
On Thursday the Bulldogs host Oceanside in a Valley League match. Senior Night for Ramona will be Nov. 6 when the Bulldogs face Mission Vista.