Mammoth Volleyball Invitational
Provided by John Morris, Head Coach MHS
The Mammoth Huskies Volleyball team hosted the Mammoth Volleyball Invitational Tournament this past weekend and placed 3rd behind Yosemite (Oakhurst) and tournament champion Brentwood (Los Angeles). 12 teams participated in total.
The Huskies started very strong in Friday’s pool play defeating Rosamond, Kern Valley and Bishop JV and posted a perfect 6-0 record. Mammoth began Saturday’s double elimination tournament as the 2nd seed and defeated Rosamond in straight sets. The Huskies then faced perennial power Yosemite (Division 2) in the winners bracket semi-final and prevailed 21-12, 20-21, 17-15 in front of a very loud and excited home crowd. In the winner’s bracket final Mammoth faced Brentwood. another Division 2 team and put up a great fight before losing 21-20 and 21-10. The Huskies final match came against Yosemite again in the loser’s bracket final. Mammoth lost a heart breaker 21-20, 21-20 to place third. Brentwood defeated Yosemite in straight sets to win the Invitational.
Said Mammoth head coach John Morris, “It’s hard to describe how well we played this weekend. Both Yosemite and Brentwood are Division 2 teams (Mammoth is in Division 4a), much larger schools with a lot more club volleyball experience. To play them so closely was incredible. This was the best 2 days of volleyball I have ever seen a Mammoth team play. Our girls have worked very hard to get to this level and the season ahead looks bright. The tournament as a whole was a big success and I think all the teams enjoyed our Mammoth hospitality and our new gym.”
The Huskies travel to California City on September 18 and 19 for the Cal City Tournament before beginning their league season against Vasquez at home on September 24.
Lone Pine Golden Eagles
Provided by Mel Joseph, Head Coach LPHS
At Mammoth Lakes, the Lady Eagles finished in top six at the Mammoth Volleyball Invitational over the weekend. The Lady Eagles finished second in Friday’s pool play and entered Saturday’s bracket play as the overall fifth seed. The Lady Eagles opened up bracket play defeating the Mammoth JV 21-10, 21-15. Lone Pine then knocked off Cal City 21-15, 15-25, 15-9, setting up a third round match up (with eventual tournament champion) Brentwood losing 21-5, 21-15. In the double elimination format, the Lady Eagles then fell to Rosamond 21-19, 20-21, 10-15. “We had a very positive weekend, every ball this team touched was a learning experience”. “I was happy with our play and team chemistry, all of our players should be happy with their performances”. Lone Pine travels next to the 24 team Cal City Tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Individual Tournament Statistics
Niki Martinez, 56/59 Serving (95%), 13 Aces, 11 Kills, 89 Assists, 14 Digs.
Abby Southey, 54/57 Serving (95%), 18 Aces, 32 Kills, 15 Digs.
Lena Cariou, 34/35 Serving (97%), 5 Aces, 12 Kills, 11 Digs.
Taylor Corona, 18 Kills, 2 Blocks.
Katelyn Button, 21/24 Serving (88%), 3 Aces, 22 Kills, 10 Digs.
Lacie Jones, 38/40 Serving (95%), 5 Aces, 72 Digs.
Shyann Padilla, 8 Digs.
Katie Lacey, 30/35 Serving (86%), 7 aces, 25 Kills, 12 Blocks.
Bishop Union High School
Provided by Assistant Coach Steve Park
Both varsity and JV played in the annual Mammoth Invitational
Tournament this past weekend. Bishop Varsity had their ups and downs at the Mammoth Invitational. The inexperience of this young team and having 2 starters out with injuries proved to be challenging as they found it difficult to find their momentum and play with cohesion. With a record of 7 and 7 on the weekend, the Broncos learned a lot and will be applying the knowledge and experience to each of their upcoming matches.
As Bishop JV was one of only two JV teams competing in the tournament, the team’s only expectation was that they would play a lot of good volleyball. Competition was tough but they played well enough to win 3 out of 11 games in 5 matches. The coaches were especially impressed with the team’s serve reception. While Bishop JV had never practiced with hard serves common in a varsity match, they nonetheless successfully returned 77% of the serves. Overall, both coaches and players were pleased with how well the team did.