Coyotes make quick work of Hawks
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Brianna Guerrero sends a kill attempt past the blocks of Sarah Shevenell (15) and Allyx Faretta (9) during Tuesday’s three-set sweep of the Hawks.
Madera junior middle blocker Isabella Saucedo was too much for the Liberty Hawks girls volleyball team could handle in a non-league match-up at Liberty.
Saucedo recorded 27 kills to go with a pair of aces in a quick three set sweep. She led the Coyotes to defeat the Hawks by a combined 75-28 score. Of Saucedo’s 27 kills, four came off Liberty overpasses and four more came on tip kills.
“Bella was no joke,” Liberty head coach Grant Clark said. “It was a great lineup. They put her on the outside and she had free reign on the net. It was a great line-up. She’s a great player. They have great defense and they kept feeding her. We tried flipping our middles, tried putting up a triple block, but she was hitting over our biggest block. I thought our defense was commendable. They hung in there, but they are a good team and they have a great player. We competed, but that’s what we want to look like in the future.”
However, one number concerning Madera head coach Meghan Haas was 11 — the number of kills for the rest of the team, including four from setter Sofia Perez.
“We can’t win with one person,” Haas said. “That’s been evident over the last couple of days. We’re trying to build confidence in the other girls so when they are set, they are ready to go. We need other options, for sure.”
Madera had three other hitters record two kills each.
However, Liberty only recorded 12 kills in the three-set match. Lucia Somilleda led the Hawks with four. Audrina Vasquez added three.
“I told the girls for maybe the first time all season before the match began the other team was better than us,” Clark said. “After the game, they said they want to be that good some day. We want our program to be that good some day. They have college-level talent. They have a system set in place. That’s what we want to achieve someday.”
“We still have to iron a lot of stuff out on our end,” Haas said. “We’re trying to work on what we do. We were placing a premium on taking care of the ball on our side of the net. We have a lot of work to do, but we have kids that want to play and want to swing. It’s a really good group of kids. They’ve been a lot of fun.”
Liberty battled with the Coyotes for the first part of the match.
A Saucedo ace opened a 3-0 lead for the Coyotes before Lauren Parks put down a kill for the Hawks. Stephanie Madrigal served up an ace to cut the lead to one.
Brianna Guerrero put down a tip kill for the side out. Kaci Gonzalez put down a kill and Guerrero put back a Liberty overpass for a 6-2 lead.
After Madera hit out of bounds for side out, Vasquez served up two aces to get the lead down to one, again.
Saucedo put down a back row kill with a down ball and then added another back row kill for a 9-6 lead.
Somilleda put down a kill for the Hawks’ side out and Allyx Feretta served up another ace to cut the lead to two.
After Saucedo put down a side out kill, Guerrero went behind the service line and Madera scored eight straight points. Saucedo had three kills in the run, one off an assist from Perez, one on a Liberty overpass and another off a tip. Liberty hit the ball into the net four times in the run for an 18-7 Liberty lead.
Mariah Medina put back a Madera hit for the side out and Somilleda served up a point before Perez surprised Liberty with a dump kill.
Madera libero Mariyah Alvarez served up four straight points with two more kills from Saucedo for a 23-9 lead.
After a trade in side outs, Perez ended the set with an ace and a 25-10 victory.
A Guerrero ace and a Saucedo kill gave Madera the early lead in the second set. Parks put down a kill, but Saucedo got the side out back with another kill on an overpass.
Another Saucedo kill opened a 4-1 lead before Somilleda got the side out with a kill to cut the lead to two.
Saucedo put down a side out kill and Madera scored 10 straight points.
Alvarez served up nine straight points, including two serves that weren’t returned. Saucedo had four kills in the run while Perez had a dump kill and another off a Liberty overpass. Alizae Vasquez also had a kill for a 14-2 lead.
Audrina Vasquez stopped the run with a side out kill, but Saucedo got the side out right back with a tip kill.
Saucedo added a point with an ace on a serve off the net. However, Vasquez and Jaclyn Smith combined on a dual block.
After five straight side outs, Liberty added a point with Smith serving. Saucedo got the side out with another tip kill, but Sarah Shevenell got the side out for Liberty with a kill.
Madera got the side out and Perez got another kill with a dump into an open spot on the Liberty side.
Shevenell got the serve back to Liberty with a solo block. Jackie Lopez served up an ace to get into double-digits, but Saucedo got another side out kill.
Alvarez served up an ace and Liberty hit into the net for set point. However, Somilleda put down a kill for a Liberty side out. However, a Liberty missed serve gave the Coyotes a 25-11 victory.
Madera put any thoughts of a Liberty comeback to rest early in the third set.
After Lauren Dybas got the side out kill for the Coyotes, Gonzalez served up 10 straight points. In the run, Gonzalez recorded an ace and Saucedo added four more kills to her total. Five Liberty errors helped the Coyotes jump out to an 11-0 lead.
Vasquez got the Liberty side out and Somilleda put down a kill for the first two Liberty points.
A Saucedo kill led to a Madera side out. Jade Davie served up a point and Saucedo had another kill to open the lead to 12.
The two teams exchanged six straight side outs with Madera getting kills from Saucedo and Alizae Vasquez.
Perez served up an ace and Saucedo put down a back row kill for a 19-5 lead.
Shevenell won a joust at the net with Vasquez for a Liberty side out.
After a Liberty service error, Vasquez served up two points, including a Dybas kill.
Audrina Vasquez got a Liberty side out with a kill, but a Guerrero side out gave the serve back to Madera.
Gonzalez served up a point for match point and, of course, Saucedo ended it with her 27th kill of the night for a 25-7 victory.
