By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Bulldogs topple Tracy West in three
Turlock nabs victory in straight sets for home opener
turlockvolleyball1
Turlock's Sophie Bigler taps the ball over and scores against Tracy on Thursday. - photo by CANDY PADILLA/The Journal

Turlock High’s varsity volleyball team is starting off undefeated at home this year after a notable performance over Tracy West on Thursday.

Things weren’t as steady as they could have been for head coach Amber Castillon and her team but in the team’s first home contest, they came out and provided consistency, eventually winning the game 3-0, (25-16, 25-20 and 25-16).

“Second game we had a couple of unforced errors and kind of let the game get away from us a little bit so we can’t have that anymore. But overall I really liked how we were moving the ball around,” Castillon said. “We were running the whole net, which is a goal of ours, to run the whole net.”

The victory marks the team’s sixth of the season as the Bulldogs have started the year 6-0, winning all games in straight sets thus far.

In the first game, West came out and took an early 2-0 lead before Turlock tied it at 2-2, then the strength that is Emily Romo, Julia Handy and Jadyn Tubbs made the necessary plays behind strong efforts from their teammates and they won the first game by nine points.

“Everyone played well and I thought serving had improved,” said Castillon of the team’s performance.

The serving was on point for the Bulldogs who accounted for 16 aces and seven blocks for the game.

Handy finished with eight serving aces along with three blocks and 34 assists. Romo tallied three aces, 11 kills and a block. Tubbs finished with a game-high 13 kills and one ace.

With a solid start, the Bulldogs went up 4-0 in the second game before West took their only lead of the game at 14-13, taking advantage of the tenseness of Turlock.

“It was a little hiccup in that second game because we were doing a triple block and they started tipping and we didn’t play short enough, so they got us on that short play a little bit, which is a big no-no,” Castillon said.

Luckily for Castillon, her experienced team gained momentum after a Romo ace then the wheels started to fall in place with the exception of some minor touches.

“I thought defense looked pretty good, always something to work on,” Castillon added. “We will enjoy the long weekend and have a little practice and just work on the little things we saw tonight and work on the game plan we have set all year.”

Turlock’s next game will be at Hilmar against the Yellowjackets at 6 p.m. Tuesday.