Hawks bounce back with win
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Liberty’s Karsyn Bauer rises up for one of her 10 kills during Tuesday’s four set victory over the Immanuel Eagles.
Liberty Hawks girls volleyball coach Grant Clark gave his team a tough opening for the new season.
After a tough loss to Minarets to open the season, the Hawks bounced back with an impressive 3-1 match win over Immanuel-Reedley, who beat Minarets in five earlier in the season.
“It was a great bounce back match for us,” Clark said. “We played a lot better than we did against Minarets. I had never beat them since I’ve been coaching at Liberty. It was good to get them.”
The Hawks recorded 35 kills in the victory over Immanuel, but what set them apart was their defense led by libero Allyx Faretta, who had a game-high 21 digs. She set a school record with 31 digs in three sets against Minarets.
Ryleigh Conae led the Hawks with 13 kills while Karsyn Bauer added 10.
The Hawks cruised to wins in the first two sets, 25-17, 25-19, but couldn’t find their way in the third set, falling 25-12. Liberty came back in the fourth set for a 25-18 victory to take the match.
“Momentum is huge in volleyball,” Clark said. “It’s probably the most important thing in high school volleyball. Our serves were great. We rolled off four or five serves in the first two sets. I was proud of the fourth set because we didn’t have that and we still controlled the set. They played great.”
Although the Hawks committed 15 service errors and had nine net violations, they recorded 19 service aces, led by Jianna Montemayor with six. Sarah Sinclair had five and Conae had four.
The Eagles were equally impressive at the line with 14 service aces, but they also committed nine service errors.
In the first set, the Hawks gradually took control. Behind three kills in the first eight points from Conae and aces from Emily Boatwright, Faretta and Conae, Liberty led 8-4.
Mariah Medina served an ace for an 11-5 Liberty lead. After a Bauer kill, Montemayor served an ace for a 13-6 lead.
Immanuel battled back with two aces of their own in a six-point run to cut the lead to one.
The Hawks got a tip kill from Conae for a three-point lead. After four straight side outs, including a Medina solo block after a long rally, the Hawks put some distance from the Eagles. Conae served up four aces in a row for a 23-15 lead.
Immanuel hit off the antenna for a side out and set point. After a Liberty net violation, Bauer put down a tip kill for the 25-17 win.
In the second set, Montemayor served up two aces and Boatwright had a kill in a four-point run to open the set. Conae put down a kill and Taylor Toschi served up an ace for a 7-1 lead.
After an Immanuel side out, Sinclair served up four aces and Conae had a kill off the net for a 14-3 Liberty lead.
Skylar Hartley added a tip kill for a side out and Conae served up a point to get the lead to 12.
Immanuel battled back to cut the lead to 10. After a pair of Liberty service errors, the Eagles scored three straight points before a Sinclair solo block.
However, another missed serve, Liberty’s fourth straight miss serve, the Eagles served up four aces in a row before hitting out of bounds for a 23-18 Liberty lead.
Sinclair served up an ace, but missed her next serve for set point. However, Immanuel gave the Hawks the second set when the Immanuel setter inadvertently set the ball out of the reach of her teammate and out of bounds.
The Eagles opened the third set behind three kills and two aces for a quick 6-2 lead.
The Hawks couldn’t keep their serve and scored just one point with serve until they were trailing 21-10. The Eagles scored five straight points, including two aces to open a 21-9 lead before a Montemayor dump kill.
Conae found the back corner for a kill, but that was all the offense Liberty could muster. The Eagles got the side out and added another point before a missed serve. The Hawks hit out of bounds for side out and set point. The Eagles closed the set with an ace for a 25-12 victory.
The Hawks took momentum back in the third set with a Montemayor ace. Montemayor had a dump kill for a side out, but neither team could separate from each other. Both teams committed a pair of service errors in the first 11 points.
Trailing 7-5, the Hawks got the side out. Medina served up two aces and had a back row kill. Bauer added another kill and Liberty took a 10-8 lead.
Immanuel got the side out, but Bauer gave the serve back to Liberty with a kill.
Montemayor served up a pair of aces in a four-point run. Boatwright recorded a solo block and Montemayor had a dump kill for a 15-8 lead.
From there, Conae took over. She got a side out kill with a hit inside the back line. Bauer added another side out kill, but Conae found the back corner for another side out and an 18-12 lead.
Liberty missed three straight serves and was into the net to allow the Eagles within four. The teams combined for five straight side outs with Conae finding the back line for a kill and Bauer dunking the ball down for another for a 23-18 Liberty lead.
The Hawks and Conae didn’t give the Eagles the serve back. Conae recorded back-to-back tip kills for a 25-18 victory and the match win.
