In one of the most thrilling matches of the season, Windsor volleyball overcame a one-set deficit to beat Cardinal Newman 3-1 on Thursday night in Santa Rosa: 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, and 25-20.
The Jaguars (15-6, 4-0) now sit alone atop the NBL-Oak standings and hold an early advantage in the league title race.
“First, I have to give credit to Newman, I think they play really well in their gym,” Windsor head coach Christen Hamilton said. “It’s a great environment, and it’s always a lot of fun to come here…I think for us we had to go back and serve a little bit tougher and take some bigger swings at those moments.”
In a battle of North Bay heavyweights, it was the host Cardinals that lead 10-8 in the first set after a back-and-forth start with plenty of errors. Newman would capitalize more than Windsor would as they saw that lead expand to 17-13.
They then would lead 23-18 before Windsor won two points in a row to get within three. Newman called a timeout, and it certainly helped, as Cienna Alvarez (19 kills, three aces, ten digs) put the finishing touches on the opening set with a kill from the right side.
Along with Alvarez, Kimmy Wilson had another standout game for Newman, with a whopping 44 assists and four aces. Sabina Walsh added 12 digs, and Emma Donnelly had 14 kills.
“It’s great to have a great volleyball match in our area,” Cardinal Newman head coach Daryl Kapis said. “I was very proud of the way they played, and for us to give the community that high-level volleyball whether we win or lose was awesome…tonight was good experience in learning how to deal with pressure.”
The second set was a whole different ballgame, as Windsor showed they got the jitters out. They lead 10-5, but Newman battled back to get within two points at 13-11. They eventually tied it, and what would happen next was a theme of the second and third sets as no one would give any space until 20 points.
Windsor then turned up the heat, going on a 7-1 run to finish the second set and even the match up at one set apiece.
The Cardinals (12-9, 3-1) started out stronger in the third, but the Jaguars would tie things up at 12. Just like the second set, when one would take the one-point lead, the other would respond to tie it right back up. That would go on until the Jaguars got a bit of breathing room up 22-20, forcing a Newman timeout. A quick 3-1 run saw them take the set and a 2-1 match lead.
Windsor kept up the momentum in the fourth, racing out to a 6-2 lead and later 13-7. But the hosts, as they had all night long, battled, and tied it at 15. The defending league champs would retake the lead up 20-17, and finish off the match with a 5-3 run.
“When we got to 20 points, I thought we played really clean volleyball,” Hamilton said. “It really was a team effort, and I think tonight showed that. Everybody on the court had to contribute for us to win and we did a good job of that.”
For Windsor, Aubrey Bush had 15 kills. Keira Rogers earned a season-high 22 assists to go along with ten digs and nine kills. Lizzy Simon had 11 assists, Ava Rush notched 20 digs and Teneli Galli had nine digs.
The two teams will meet again on Oct. 21 in the second game of their league series. That game will be at Windsor.
Maria Carrillo 3, Ukiah 0
The Pumas picked up their second win in league play with a sweep of Ukiah on Thursday evening: 25-22, 25-20, and 25-19.
Sonya Bagala led the way with nine kills, nine digs and 11 assists. Harper Rush had three aces and 11 digs, while Savannah Houts added five kills and seven digs.
Other scores:
Montgomery 3, Santa Rosa 0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-16)
Rancho Cotate 3, St. Vincent (25-23, 25-17, 25-13)
Analy 3, Elsie Allen 0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-11)
Petaluma 3, Napa 0 (25-5, 25-6, 25-16)
St. Helena 3, Clear Lake 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18)
Cloverdale 3, Middletown 0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-16)
Sonoma Academy 3, Roseland Collegiate Prep 0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-17)
Roseland University Prep 3, Calistoga 0
Standings
NBL-Oak
Windsor 4-0, 15-6
Cardinal Newman 3-1, 12-9
Montgomery 2-2, 9-7
Maria Carrillo 2-2, 12-10
Santa Rosa 1-3, 3-11
Ukiah 0-4, 10-14
NBL-Redwood
Rancho Cotate 4-0, 15-4
Analy 3-1, 13-8
St. Vincent 2-2, 10-8
Healdsburg 1-2, 5-13
Piner 0-2, 10-12
Elsie Allen 0-3, 2-10
VVAL
Petaluma 8-1, 17-5
Vintage 7-1, 11-7
Justin-Siena 6-2, 12-6
American Canyon 3-3, 10-6
Casa Grande 3-5, 7-13
Sonoma Valley 1-8, 3-14
Napa 0-8, 2-16
NCL I
Kelseyville 8-0, 12-4
Cloverdale 7-1, 14-7
Fort Bragg 5-2, 9-7
Middletown 4-4, 6-20
St. Helena 3-5, 7-11
Upper Lake 2-5, 6-6
Clear Lake 2-6, 7-12
Lower Lake 0-8, 0-11
NCL II
Sonoma Academy 8-0, 12-3
Roseland University Prep 7-1, 15-7
Calistoga 5-3, 9-4
Credo 4-3, 9-6
Willits 2-4, 2-11
Technology 2-5, 4-7
Roseland Collegiate Prep 1-6, 1-10
Victory Christian Academy 0-7, 2-11