Madera sweeps into first place
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team celebrates the final point of Tuesday’s three-set victory over Edison.
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team faced a struggling Edison-Fresno team and quickly finished the job.
The Coyotes led most of the way against the Tigers, winning 3-0 at home on Tuesday.
Madera head coach Meghan Haas was happy with her team’s ability to come out focused against an inferior team.
“Right now we’re in the hunt for a CMAC title, so every game we play is important,” Haas said. “We did well enough to win, so I’m happy with that.”
The Coyotes jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first set and refused to let the Tigers get any closer.
Junior outside hitter Brianna Guerrero was a major factor for Madera in the first set, recording six of her nine kills in the set to help the Coyotes’ start fast.
Guerrero’s performance in the first set included two straight points which helped the Coyotes take a 22-13 lead.
Following up on Guerrero’s success, Alizae Vasquez came up with a kill and a block to give the Coyotes a 24-13.
Guerrero then scored the final point with a tip, giving the Coyotes a 25-13 win in the first set.
“The motivation from my team cheering me on to do better and all their energy helped me focus all that energy onto the court,” Guerrero said.
The Tigers held a 4-3 lead in the second set, but it was short-lived. Isabella Saucedo, who ended the game with eight kills, scored two straight points to help the Coyotes retake the lead.
Saucedo came up with a block later in the set to give the Coyotes an 11-6 lead. The junior had another stretch where she scored two in a row, pushing the lead to 20-6.
With two service aces added to her tally, Saucedo led the Coyotes to a 25-7 win in the second set.
“We served well in the second and third set, which took Edison out of its game,” Haas said. “It makes our job easier on our side, defensively.”
The Tigers stayed close for a while in the third set, but it was only a matter of time before the Coyotes pulled away, again. Edison, who trailed 9-8 at one point, found itself in an 18-10 deficit after another kill from Guerrero.
Edison then put together its best stretch of the game with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-17.
But Guerrero added two more points to her total before the end, helping the Coyotes walk away with a 25-17 win in the final set to complete the sweep.
“I was really focused on hitting in areas that they weren’t in,” Guerrero said. “I was able to find the empty spots.”
Madera moved to 4-1 in league with the win and are in a first place tie with Madera South and San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno.
