On Tuesday, August 31 Ukiah High School’s varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams played Middletown for the first time this season, both teams coming out on top. The JV won the first two matches, the first one being 25-21 and the second being 25-11. The varsity team went on to win the first three matches ending the game, the first match being 25-17 second 25-15 and the third being 25-14.
Coach Molly Thomas, JV coach at Ukiah High School, said, “I think we played well tonight, we started off slow and with low energy but we pushed through.” She furthermore stated that they had some tough serves in the second match and brought more energy. Coach Thomas thinks that they should improve on starting off with more energy especially with a tough competitor like Middletown.
Varsity coach Amanda Brown thinks that the varsity team played well at Tuesday’s night game, “I continue to be impressed by the effort, “teams”, and attitude of our Varsity players. As a team we demonstrate our effort by hustling after every ball. We show “team-ness” through the communication on the court and the cheering on the bench. Everyone has their role and contributes to the team and that is evident by the positive and competitive attitudes demonstrated by all members of the team.”
Coach Brown thinks that the next couple of weeks will be a test for the varsity team playing Maria Carrillo, West County, and Windsor along with two tournaments in other towns. Coach Brown said if the varsity Wildcats bring the heat, they can win these games.
When coach Brown was asked who stood out in this game she said that players Seniors Naomi Lunceford and Zoey White bring a lot of energy and excitement to the team. Lunceford hitting from the left side and White playing back row diving for every ball. She is also impressed with senior Sophia Dunnicliff who plays the outside and Julia Maldonado who is one of the setters on the team.
Senior and player on the varsity team Zoey White thinks that the Wildcats played really well last night and that they had good communication. White further stated that they should improve on making their tempo faster so that they can catch their opposing teams off-guard. When White was asked who she thought stood out in the game she mentioned Cameron Hubley, who is a sophomore on the team, who in Tuesday’s game had a serving spree of 12.
Ukiah High School volleyball team’s next game will be on Thursday, September 9th playing Windsor High School. With a new school year starting and volleyball season, we are excited to see what the Ukiah High School volleyball team can do this year.
