SALINAS VALLEY — The King City and Soledad high school volleyball teams fell to division-leading Robert Louis Stevenson and second-place Alisal, respectively, last week on the same day to drop into a third-place tie with 4-2 records.
Soledad (11-2 overall) beat Watsonville by a 3-0 score last Tuesday at home and then lost 3-0 in Salinas two days later to the host Trojans. In the games with Watsonville, Kaya Ojeda led Soledad with 10 kills, and Delylah Ocampo and Kaylee Anderson combined for 16 kills. Kyla Menendez led the Aztecs with 14 digs.
Soledad hosted Stevenson on Monday and will play at Gonzales on Wednesday night.
King City beat Rancho San Juan, 3-1, last Tuesday in Salinas. Bri Zamora had 11 kills, four aces and two blocks, while Avery Munoz and Elia Rubbo combined for 17 kills and five blocks. Munoz finished the game with 14 digs. Alizah Carrillo and Jocelyn Jacquez combined for 25 digs, and Taelyn Munoz and Mily Paramo had 33 assists, six aces and eight digs.
In the 0-3 loss to Stevenson, Avery Munoz, Zamora and Rubbo combined for 19 kills and Zamora added five aces. Carrillo had 10 digs and two aces.
“This was an intense match to play in, as it was back-and-forth,” said King City head coach Christine Luna. “All three sets were very close.”
On Saturday, the JV Broncos participated in the Stevenson Pirates Tournament and placed second, falling to Carmel in the championship.
The King City teams hosted North Monterey County on Monday and will host Watsonville on Wednesday in the Mustang Gym.
Gonzales was .500 for the week, losing at home to North County in four games and beating visiting Watsonville in three games.
In the loss to North County, Maricruz Bibriesca led Gonzales with nine kills and added five blocks. Natalia Valdez had five kills and one block; Camilla Ramirez and Carmen Sanchez combined for eight kills and 18 digs. Breyannalee Tello had 15 digs and Alitzel Mauro-Perez had 22 assists.
Gonzales, 1-5 in the Mission and 4-6 overall, has two tough games this week as they hosted Stevenson on Monday and will host the Alisal Trojans on Wednesday.
“After taking a hit with an injury right before league play, we are able to find our spark against Watsonville this week,” said Gonzales head coach Desiree Baltazar. “Now it’s all about trusting in our preparation, training and the trust we’ve built in one another. If we stick to this mindset, we’ll be ready to battle through the remainder of league play.”
