Jaycie Roberts dives to the floor for a dig against North Valleys on Tuesday night.
It was a match Carson High volleyball coach Robert Maw fully expected to win, and the Senators justified that confidence.
Thanks to the serving of Makenzie Tucker and Natalie Anderson plus the hitting of Jaycie Roberts and Juliana Anderson, the Senators rolled to a 25-12, 25-8 and 25-13 victory over North Valleys Tuesday night at Morse Burley Gym.
Carson improved to 4-1 heading into Thursday’s match at McQueen.
“It is a match I expected we would win,” Maw said. “I expected this to be a lot like the Hug match.
“It was a good night. I was able to get everybody in tonight which is what I was hoping to do. Our ball control was significantly better tonight.”
And, it pretty much was comparable to the Hug match. Carson had its momentary lapses in the first and third games, but was dominant in the second game. There was never any doubt the Senators would win. The only question was if it was going three or four games.
Some nice net play by Ashlynn Biassou gave North Valleys an early 6-4 lead in the first set. Carson bounced back with a nice 8-1 run for a 12-7 lead, as Maddie Jergensen and Juliana Anderson had two kills apiece while Roberts added one. Anderson also served up one of Carson’s 15 aces on the night. North Valleys did close to 13-9, but Carson, with Sarah Christl at the service line, scored eight of the next nine for a 21-10 lead. Roberts and Allison Kibbe had a kill apiece, while NV made four errors, mostly hitting mistakes. NV scored twice, but kills by Natalie and Juliana Anderson plus an ace by Roberts closed out the match.
Tucker sparked Carson in the second set, serving three straight aces for a quick 4-0 lead. Tucker had five aces on the night.
“Honestly, serving is one of my best skills,” Tucker said. “I think it’s always been a strength. I think it ( a service run) gets us going and gives us confidence. He (coach Maw) tells me where he wants it on the court and what height to serve it at. It’s hard to return when the ball is coming right at you.”
“She is a great server,” Maw said. “She also passed very well tonight. We generate a lot of energy through her.”
After North Valleys scored on a net violation by Carson, the Senators went on a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 14-4. Juliana Anderson had two kills, while Maya Vasquez and Katie Matuska added a kill apiece. Christl, who was on the service line for five points, registered an ace. North Valley stemmed the tide briefly to make it 14-5, but Carson scored nine straight behind the serving of Natalie Anderson, who had five aces in that stretch.
“Natalie was strong with the serve,” Maw said. “We’ve been working on it.”
In the third set, North Valleys scored three of the first four points only to see Carson go on an 8-1 run for a 9-4 lead. Kylie Riske had a stuff block and Kibbe served up an ace. The rest of the points came off NV mistakes. After Tucker missed a serve, the Senators scored five straight for a 14-5 lead. Keelin Pilgrim had two kills, Christl served up another ace and NV made a setting error and a hitting error. Pilgrim would get two more kills down the stretch, as the Panthers never got closer than seven points the remainder of the set. Pilgrim finished the match with five kills.
“For the most part, Keelin has been on the left side,” Maw said. “I knew she could play the right side. She did a good job being consistent and putting the ball away.”