To paraphrase a popular phrase from a commercial, Anzar High was
not particularly glad to have met Etna.
GILROY – To paraphrase a popular phrase from a commercial, Anzar High was not particularly glad to have met Etna.
The Hawks, seeded 3rd in the CIF NorCal Division V volleyball tournament, were set down fairly quickly by the Etna Lady Lions, losing 15-0, 15-13, 15-7 at Gavilan College.
“Etna’s a good team,” said Hawks coach Tamara Smith of the school located a half hour south of Yreka. “They passed and served well.”
Anzar (25-12) was hindered from the start when starting setter Gena Ray, a first team all-Mission Trail Athletic League selection, didn’t warm up due to illness. Smith, not knowing what to expect from a team located seven hours away, gambled and sat down Ray for the entire first game.
Didn’t work.
Despite Stephanie Smith’s able fill-in job at setter, the Hawks never got untracked as the Lady Lions (28-6) made very few mistakes.
Ray was forced to take off her jacket and played every minute of games two and three as the Hawks played much better, for the most part. They actually fell behind 5-0 in game two before a hit ouf of bounds by Etna garnered the Hawks their first point of the night. Senior Cory Strasser, one of six Hawks seniors playing her last game, served back-to-back aces and the Hawk fans finally had something to cheer for.
However, Lady Lions middle blocker Lindsey Haupt peeled off four straight aces and the Hawks called timeout. Down 10-5, Leanna Hardy hit a winner for the Hawks to cap off a long rally. Hawks outside hitter Kiely White got warmed up and led a charge. A White kill brought the Hawks to within 13-12, then Anzar was down just 13-14 after a ball hit out by the Lady Lions.
Jacyln Rainville executed a kill block for Etna and game point and the Hawks’ comeback balloon was burst. The Hawks, who never led any game, fought to a 4-4 tie in game three, but the Lady Lions regrouped following a timeout and regained control.
Ray, showing her importance, had 25 assists in two games. Hardy had 14 digs, while White had 14 digs to go with 16 kills.
“White is a powerful hitter,” said Lady Lions coach Charnna Gilmore. “I didn’t know what to expect coming down here. I didn’t know what level of competition they played against.”
“It was a great season,” said Tamara Smith. “We lost some real good seniors this year and we’ll be rebuilding next year. But we have some good players on the frosh-soph team who will help us.”
White, a First Team All-MTAL selection, wasn’t too down after her last high school match.
“We didn’t come out energized tonight,” she said. “We started to play better after our coaches yelled at us. I didn’t play very well, I know that.”
Hawk hits: Cory Strasser and Treva Crocker were named honorable mention All-MTAL for the Hawks. – A crowd of about 100 attended the match.
