The Carson High volleyball team overcame another injury in warmups to defeat Damonte Ranch 26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15 on Thursday at home.
Carson lost freshman outside hitter Nikki Keller, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her knee when she landed after spiking the ball in warmups. Carson coach Shana Wilkins said her team was affected by the injury to begin the match. "We didn't play that great in warmups," Wilkins said.
Morgan Nuckolls and Michelle Raponi led the defensive effort. Nuckolls had 29 digs and Raponi had 32 digs. "They were all over the court," Wilkins said. "They did a great job."
Despite Nuckolls' and Raponi's effort, Wilkins said the defensive effort could have been even better. "We didn't get the digs that we normally do," Wilkins said.
Damonte Ranch was led by Colleen Carlson, who had 19 kills and 16 digs, and Lauren Kelly, who had 15 kills and 17 digs.
"They get their kills," Wilkins said. "They're phenomenal hitters. We just didn't play that fabulous. It really shouldn't have been that close of a game."
Sandie Howard had seven kills and seven blocks, Nuckolls added four kills, Nicole Scott had seven blocks and six kills, Catherine Brekken had two blocks, six kills and five digs and Lindsay Ford added 31 assists for Carson.
DOUGLAS 3, NORTH VALLEYS 0
Dawson Joyce-Mendive had 10 kills and Monica Knight and Whitney Estes each had eight kills to lead Douglas to the 25-14, 25-11, 25-12 win. Knight also had three aces, Estes had 10 digs and Katy Marsh had 19 assists.