Coyotes win subdued match
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera middle blocker Hallie Page sends a kill attempt past Madera South’s Destiny Perez during a three-set victory over the Stallions on Tuesday.
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team headed into Tuesday’s rivalry match with the Madera South Stallions as the heavy favorites and lived up to expectations with a three-set victory to close out an undefeated first half of the County/Metro Athletic Conference season.
“This is the last match of the first round of CMAC,” Madera head coach Meghan Haas said. “It’s good to go into the second half 5-0 and to do it in three is a good thing.”
While the Coyotes are rolling Tuesday, the Stallions are still trying to find its way with a starting lineup that features just one senior.
“We want to improve each day,” Stallions head coach Travis McEowen said. “We need to grow each day. We want to grow for playoffs. We’re not looking at wins and losses. Our young girls are getting a lot of court time. We just want to grow and develop.”
Katelyn Siegl led the Coyotes with a match-high 10 kills. Hallie Page added nine and Isabella Saucedo added seven more in the sweep.
“We wanted to take care of our side of the court,” Haas said. “A lot of times, it’s going to win us a volleyball game.”
Freshman Arelis Chavez led the Stallions with six kills.
“We made some mistakes. When you play a team like Madera, you have to play a perfect game,” McEowen said. “One mistake and they will take advantage of it. They have all the things clicking right now.”
The Coyotes outscored the Stallions 75-43 in the three sets and put away the Stallions early in each set.
“They were less emotional than I anticipated,” Haas said about her team and the rivalry. “It was less subdued than any other Madera/Madera South volleyball match that I have experienced in the past. I was worried about that coming into that. I didn’t feel like, emotionally, they were like that."
Madera South jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead behind a Chavez kill. However, Madera got the serve back and got an ace from Gisele Morado and a dual block from Page and Lauren Lund to tie the set.
After a Page side out kill, she added another and teamed with Siegl on a dual block for a 7-4 Coyotes lead.
Kiara Alvarado got a bump kill for a Stallions side out, but a Lund kill gave the serve back to Madera. Page served up five straight points with the final two on Siegl kills for a 13-6 lead.
After a trade in side outs, Cassadi Mata served up an ace and Saucedo put down a kill to open a 17-7 lead.
Madera kills by Siegl and Morado opened the lead to 11. A Page kill gave the Coyotes a 21-10 lead before an Aleecia Rosel kill gave the Stallions side out.
Morado served up two more points, including a solo block from Page to get to set point.
The Stallions scored two straight points, but hit out of bounds for a 25-12 Coyote victory.
The Stallions took the early lead in the second set behind a Chavez kill and a Madera hit out of bounds. Back-to-back Chavez side out kills kept the Stallions in the lead.
After a Lund kill, Siegl and Page put down kills to give the Coyotes the lead.
However, Madera South received kills from Rosel and Bianca Guevara to tie the set at six. Guevara served up two points for a 9-7 Stallions lead.
Jocelynn Markle put down a side out kill, Morado put down a kill and Page served an ace to give Madera the lead.
A Rosel kill tied the set for the Stallions, but the Coyotes closed the set on a 14-4 run to end the set. Alicia Velasco served five points with two aces. Saucedo and Siegl added kills in the run. Lund and Siegl added side out kills and Page put down another or a 21-14 lead.
Page served an ace and Saucedo put down a kill to get to set point. Madera South hit out of bounds for the 25-15 Coyote victory.
Behind Velasco’s serving, the Coyotes jumped out to a 4-0 lead, helped by a Siegl kill. Siegl and Saucedo added kills for an 8-2 lead.
The Stallions had the highlight of the match when libero Alejandra Barranco came sprinting out of bounds to make a diving save on a ball. She got the ball up and Guevara sent the ball over the net at a hard angle. The ball surprised the Coyotes, who let it drop for a side out and cut the lead to 11-6.
Page recorded a pair of side out kills and Saucedo added another while Chavez put one down for the Stallions, but Madera led 16-9.
A Madera service ace and a Stallions ace from Ruth Castillo cut the lead down to five before a Mata kill.
The Coyotes capitalized on Stallions mistakes to open the lead back to eight before a Guevara kill.
Mata put down a kill to give the Coyotes the serve. Chavez combined with Kaylee Nevarez for a dual block to cut Madera’s lead to seven.
Page put down a kill to get the Coyotes to match point. The Coyotes won the match when the Coyotes couldn’t return a Madera hit for a 25-17 victory.
