Paloma Valley girls volleyball team sweeps Heritage

Grace Liesemeyer makes a return for Paloma Valley in a win over Heritage Wednesday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

Heritage and Paloma Valley met up on the volleyball court Wednesday night and the Wildcats came away with a win in three sets.

The first set started out with a 15-0 run from Paloma, led by Hannah Welch, who served for those points. The deficit was never broken down enough by Heritage and the Wildcats took that set 25-8 with a tip-over by senior Elle Scott.

“We started out strong and that’s something we’ve kind of struggled with,” said Scott, who had 9 kills in 10 total swings on the night. “So I was happy to know we are improving there and starting with more momentum.”

Their momentum took Paloma (4-2) into the second set strong, as well, but the Patriots kept the lead to a minimum this time around, and even took the lead at 5-4 early in the match. The Wildcats took the victory in that set as well, however, by a 25-13 score.

Heritage head coach Diamonique Brogan said her team’s ability to play to the level of Paloma Valley is something she’s proud of, considering the experience level.

“We have a lot of raw players. We’re building from the ground up,” said Brogan. “A lot of our girls are new to volleyball, and that’s just what you get with that. A lot of their players are club players who play year-round and ours are not. They’re all hard-working and I really admire that about them.”

The competitive level of Heritage increased even more as they took an early 9-5 lead in the third set. After the Wildcats came back and tied it at 12, Heritage quickly took the lead again at 20-16.

“We definitely had the lead for most of that last set, but we have this problem a lot where we have a hard time finishing out the set,” said junior Kaia Vanslyke. “I want to push my team harder and I want to start winning.”

Paige Gurganious started service for Paloma at that point and got her team back ahead with a 6-0 run, marking the first Paloma lead of that set at 21-20. Paloma’s Brooklyn Rutledge finished off with set point from her service and Paloma took the win.

Wildcats head coach Stephen Kaas said he was satisfied with the team’s defense on the night but is looking to capitalize offensively going forward.

“This isn’t like soccer where you can play defense the whole time and kick one in at the end to win,” Kaas said. “We want to be a little bit more balanced and score more points.”

As they look to those next matches, Kaas said he and his players hope people will come to the games for more than just volleyball.

“It’s a fun event; we have a lot of fun and a great snack bar,” said Kaas. “If you want to come, we want you to be a part of it.”

Paloma will head to Valley View to play Thursday afternoon and Heritage (1-7) will look for their second win of the season at home against Hillcrest next Wednesday.

Elsie Sisson goes up for the block as teammate Baylie Moore looks on. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Malia Jones bumps the ball forward during the Wildcats' victory. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Elle Scott prepares to tip the ball over the net against Heritage. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Kamryn Anderson controls the ball for Paloma Valley on Wednesday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)