Turlock’s varsity volleyball team was quick to shake off their opening league loss to Gregori last week by capturing their first Central California Athletic League victory on Monday from home against Enochs High in a 3-0 sweep (25-8, 25-11 and 25-16).
“They played better tonight and were more focused and did their job tonight and they served tough,” said Turlock head coach Amber Lugo. “We got a win and a loss, now we need to build those wins. We just have to minimize our errors and capitalize on our chances.”
“It feels really good because after our loss I guess we woke up and realized it definitely won’t be as easy as we may have thought,” said Turlock senior Sarah Romo. “So, we definitely worked extra hard at practice and it’s fun to see where we are getting a rhythm going.”
The win also snaps a three-game losing streak for Turlock who is now 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the CCAL.
“We have ingredients just working on the recipe. A lot of youth and great leadership out there, but it’s a work in progress,” said Lugo. “It is a different group… they are working so hard and doing everything we are asking of them so it’s continual progress and I am very proud of them.”
The Turlock roster is comprised of 10, with just three seniors. There are also five sophomores and two juniors. The underclassmen saw heavy time played on Monday.
Sophomore Ava Chiesa, Kennedy Bixel, Brynn Rowell and Ellie Crowell assisted for most of the game, especially in the second and third set when junior Mary K. Padilla was taken out after experiencing an illness.
Zoie Cripe, Jazmyn Tubbs and Romo helped ease things up in the closing set.
The first set was a dominant one from Turlock that also provided the most lopsided of the three sets played.
Turlock kicked off the second with a close match that saw the score read 5-4. From there they went on a run, rallying 9-1, then 8-6 before they went off and closed it with a 3-0 run to win the second set by 14 points.
Enochs made the third set interesting. They kept a steady lead, going up by as many as two points. Turlock battled back after they trailed 12-11 and a timeout was called.
“We switched things up in the third set, which is where we saw a little hiccup because Mary was a little sick so we want her to recover for when we need her, but our squad is so diverse,” said Tubbs.
The Bulldogs, calm and collective, went on to outscore the Eagles 14-4 to end the game.
“I feel like today’s win was a spotlight for us because after losing to Gregori, I feel it was a deficit, but with this win we are still in it, the CCAL title, but I feel it was good to get this start up again,” said Tubbs.
Tubbs finished Monday’s game with 10 kills and three aces.
Rowell tallied six aces, while Chiesa finished with four aces and nine kills.
Padilla, despite being sick, still had five kills, while Romo added a game-high 30 assists.
“Our mindset has definitely changed from the first game because we know what we need to do,” said Romo. “So, I definitely think there is that possibility that we will be in the running for a league title even though that first league loss was tough, I am sure we will definitely be up there.”
Turlock will next travel to Modesto High (21-3) to take on the Panthers at 6 p.m.
“League is crazy, just all over the place so we can’t worry about anybody, we just have to worry about us. We are going to go out there and do our best to build on this group that we have,” Lugo added.
