Carson's Maddie Jergesen nails one back over the net against Galena Thursday night in Reno.
RENO — Carson High’s volleyball team didn’t dwell long on Thursday’s sweep against Galena.
The Senators have bigger fish to fry, namely league-leading Bishop Manogue and rival Douglas next week.
The Senators, by virtue of their 25-11, 25-17 and 25-14 win over the Grizzlies, remain one game ahead of Damonte. Carson is 11-3 and Damonte is 10-4.
“I’m excited,” Carson outside hitter Juliana Anderson said. “I’m so pumped. It’s my last two (regular-season) high school games. It’s Senior Night. it’s the last home game of the season and we should have a big student section.”
Carson gave Manogue two tough games (25-22, 25-22) before falling 25-14 in the third in their first meeting. The Miners are coming off a tough five-set win over Douglas (15-13 in the third).
“That gives us confidence,” Anderson said. “We had an opportunity to win either of those first two games (last time).”
Carson coach Robert Maw knows his team needs to sweep next week or get some help to get second place and host a first-round playoff game.
“If we can get by Manogue and Douglas, there is nothing Damonte Ranch can do,” Maw said. “We can’t play as individuals next week and win. We have to communicate better with each other on the floor.
“We slowed down tonight. We need to pass the ball better to get our quick-tempo offense going. I think we played down a little bit tonight. I think we lost interest a little bit out there (because of the lopsided score).”
Carson’s quick-set attack was in high gear the first set, as Maddie Jergesen had five of her nine kills.
Carson used three big flurries to put away the first set.
Jergesen and Kylie Riske had two kills apiece to get CHS off to an 8-2 start. After Galena cut it to 10-7, Juliana Anderson had two kills to lead a 5-1 surge which put the Senators up 15-8. Galena cut the deficit to 16-10 on a tip by Katie Pintar, but Carson scored nine of the final 11. Jergesen had three more kills, Jaycie Roberts and Riske had a kill apiece, and Makenzie Tucker served up an ace.
In the second set, Galena took an 11-10 lead on two aces by Faith Bennett. Two Galena errors and a Riske kill enabled CHS to retake the lead, 13-11. Galena used a 4-0 run, fueled by three Carson errors, to take a 15-13 advantage. That was the Grizzlies’ last hurrah, however.
The Senators, led by two more Jergesen kills and one each by Roberts and Anderson, rolled to a 22-16 lead. Galena scored on a Carson error to make it 22-17, but two Galena errors and a kill by Dajarrah Navarro ended the second set.
“We hit a lull that second game,” Anderson said. “We were not communicating very well.”
Galena scored six of the first eight points in the third set against a patchwork lineup, as Maw rested some of his top players. Juliana Anderson led a 7-0 surge with three kills, as Carson took a 9-6 lead. The Grizzlies, on the strength of back-to-back kills by Alison French, gained a 10-all tie.
That surge just seemed to fire Carson up. The Senators went on a 10-1 run to take a 23-12 lead. Roberts had three kills. After Whitney Davidson registered a kill to stop the proverbial bleeding, Carson scored five of the next seven to complete the sweep. Katie Matuska had three kills in the final game.
Dayton tops Vikings in 4
DAYTON — The Dust Devils improved to 11-3 with an 11-25, 25-23, 25-22 and 25-21 over South Tahoe Wednesday night.
Dayton faces unbeaten Truckee on the road today at 6 p.m.
Dayton played without its starters in the opening game. The starters were benched for undisclosed reasons.
“They (the subs) were nervous at first, but by the end of the match my entire team rallied together and played well,” DHS coach Monica Halverson said. “It was fun to watch and see that even through tough tims, teams can come together and rise above obstacles.”
Halverson was pleased with the front-line play of Kallie and Kasie Strong, Makenna Olsen, and Ashley and Becca Mason. She also applauded the efforts of libero Rachel Hadley and setter Shalia Powell.