Coyotes take control with win over Apaches
2012
In a match between the top two teams in the County/Metro Athletic Conference, Madera Coyote girls volleyball head coach Robyn Keune wished she could have battled the Sanger Apaches at full strength.
Makinna Malady, Erin Drew and Miranda Brunner made Keune forget about injured Biriele Hefner in a 3-2 victory over Sanger to move into a first place tie with the Apaches.
Malady put down 19 kills and Drew and Brunner each had 16 kills to lead the Coyotes. The Coyotes went 1-2 in the last two weeks without Hefner, but picked up an important win over Sanger to move both teams to 5-2 in the CMAC.
Brunner has been the player to step up in Hefner’s absence. She recorded her third straight triple-double. To go along with her kills, Brunner had 23 digs and 33 assists.
Libero Mariah Davis recorded 41 digs.
2013
Coyotes’ balance too much for Stallions
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team had three players with more than five kills in a three-set victory over cross-town rivals Madera South to finish the first half of the County/Metro Athletic Conference with a 5-0 standing.
The Coyotes are trying to win the CMAC for the first time and haven’t been challenged in the first half of the season. In fact, they only went to four sets in two matches.
Royston got seven kills each from Brielle Hefner and Makinna Malady and five more from Erica Siegl for a 3-0 victory at Madera South.
“Brielle has been playing well,” Royston said. “She’s been working hard for mare attempts and kills.
The Coyotes dominated the first and last sets, but had trouble in the second set for the win.
Coyote water polo hold off Edison
Those who attended the Madera water polo match against Edison-Fresno got to see two exciting games for the price of one.
At the McAlister Aquatic Complex, spectators watched back-to-back County/Metro Athletic Conference matches that featured clutch play from the Madera goalkeepers, a late comeback by the Tigers and a number of sensational Coyote goals including a boys game-high four by Austin Wade and a girls team-high three from Kylie Gill.
The Coyote girls defeated Edison 10-7, which was followed by an 11-9 win by the Madera boys.
2015
Last second goal lifts Coyotes
FRESNO — Tie game, seconds left on the clock in overtime, what do you do when you get the ball and a chance to win at half-court.
If your Madera Coyote girls water polo player Emily Goertzen, you throw the ball on goal and hope for the best.
“I was just thinking if it’s going to go in or not,” she said. “Just turn and shoot.”
Goertzen’s shot found the upper right corner of the goal cage for the game-winning goal with three seconds left of a County/Metro Athletic Conference match with the San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno Panthers.
“It was overtime and I really want this win,” Goertzen said. “I was like shoot and I did it. I was thinking if it was in or not. It went in and it’s crazy.”
Stallions beat rivals in four
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team won the first set, but the Madera South Stallions won the last three for their third straight win to end the first half of the County/Metro Athletic Conference season.
The Stallions recorded 47 kills in the four-set victory in Joe Flores Gym. At times, Madera South’s Dominique Andrews took over the match. She finished with 21 kills. Lanaye Brewer added 12 kills and Paige Pender had nine.
Meanwhile, the Coyotes recorded 32 kills, led by Logan Grewal’s nine, all after sitting out the first set. Rozlyn Holmes had seven and Kinsey Kerby and Hallie Page had six.
After dropping the first set, the Stallions outscored the Coyotes 75-35 in the next three set wins in a raucous gym.
2018
Liberty makes a statement
The Liberty Hawks football team knew it was going to be in for a battle against the Kerman Lions on Senior Night.
The Hawks prepared to play their first close game (within 21 points) in 15 straight games. However, Liberty scored seven straight times and turned a 14-point deficit into a 50-28 victory.
“That was a signature win,” head coach Mike Nolte said. “That’s one a lot of people circled on their calendar — us and them. It was definitely a big win for us.”
The Hawks have won five straight games since a Week 4 loss to Kennedy-Delano.
The Hawks got a record breaking performance from senior Wyatt Roth.
He rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns. He caught a 73-yard touchdown catch-and-run that put the game out of reach. He also had six tackles and 1.5 quarterback sacks. He broke the school record for touchdowns in a career with 50 (Brandon Graham, 2005-2006).
Stallions close with volleyball sweep
In honor of its four seniors, the Madera South Stallions girls volleyball team played one of its best matches of the season for a sweep over the San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno Panthers.