Carson volleyball beats Douglas

MINDEN — Twenty wins represents a successful season for most high school teams in any sport.

On Thursday night, the Carson High volleyball celebrated its 20th win of the season and defeated arch rival Douglas in the process, 3-1, before a crowd of nearly 400 at Randy Green Court.

Carson (20-10 overall, 13-3 Sierra League) won by scores of 25-15, 25-11, 20-25, 25-20 in a rematch of teams who played for the Northern Division I Region Tournament championship last year.

Jaycie Roberts blasted a season-high 21 kills, Maddie Jergesen put down a career high 16 blocks and the Senators collected a team total of 99 digs on their way to a win that clinched second-place in the league’s final regular season standings.

“Twenty is a good number for us,” said Carson coach Robert Maw, whose Senators also posted 20 wins last season. “We played 29, 30 times and when you look at the teams we played, 20 wins is a good benchmark.

“I mean, the teams in our league are tough teams,” he added.

Douglas (14-11 overall, 8-8 league), the defending region tournament champion, finished fourth in the league.

“Totally, give Carson credit,” Douglas coach Suzi Townsell said. “They had a good week (including a win over league-leading Bishop Manogue on Tuesday). They’re just playing really well right now.”

Carson has now won six straight matches since playing in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Oct. 2-3.

“We faced three of the top 25 teams in the nation,” Maw said.

“That gave us a chance to play under adversity against a high level of competition, and it definitely brought our level of play up.”

The Senators also made a lineup change coming out of the Arizona trip that Maw feels has proven beneficial.

“We saw some things we needed to change and we made those changes,” he said. “And it was because of that trip.”

Kylie Riske, who moved to right side hitter after the tournament, collected 12 kills, eight blocks and two digs on the night.

Juliana Anderson contributed nine kills and 20 digs, while Natalie Anderson handed out 36 assists to go with 13 digs. Freshman libero Abby Pradere was also credited with 26 digs and four aces. Makenzie Tucker and Roberts added 17 digs each.

Aubrey Caires led Douglas at the net with nine kills, while Isabelle Peterson added seven kills and five blocks. Raychel Allen and Maddi Rozier contributed nine digs each. Allen had 10 service points (three aces) and Talyn Jackson rang up three aces.

“We had our moments,” Townsell said. “We had a chance to win that fourth game, we had the momentum, and they took it back. We’re fighting. We’re a young team that just needs to learn how to finish.”