With the pinnacle of their season-long quest within their grasp, the Sonoma Valley High School varsity volleyball girls didn't hesitate in seizing the championship moment, and their dominating Sonoma County League reign has now quadrupled.
Entering the current campaign as three-time defending champions, the first-place Lady Dragons stayed primed and focused on their goal of claiming a fourth straight league crown, and put their unbeaten SCL record on the line against Healdsburg, the only team with an outside chance overtaking them.
After edging the visiting Greyhounds 25-23 in the first set of last Thursday night's league clash at Pfeiffer Gym, the Sonoma girls roared through the second set and slammed home a 25-10 win, before wrapping up a 3-0 match victory with a 25-21 third-set triumph.
Comprising the 2014 SCL champion Lady Dragons – directed by head coach Chelsea Scott and assistant coaches Mindy Wiley and Haley Ross – are seniors Mackenzie Albrecht, Hannah Herrick, Cheyene McCambridge, Ciara Smith and Delaney Swanson; juniors Courtney Cogbill, Carlie Vollert and Sami Von Gober; sophomores Sydney Eckert, Jenna Mak and Kiara Miles; and freshman Layla Schoeningh.
Leading Sonoma – 20-3 overall record, 10-0 SCL mark – past the Greyhound girls were Albrecht 43 assists, 10 digs, five kills, three service aces and two blocks; Swanson 17 kills, 16 digs and three aces; Mak's 17 digs, seven kills and three aces; Herrick's 13 digs and seven kills; Miles' eight digs; Von Gober's five digs and three aces; Smith's five kills and one block; and Vollert's four kills and one block.
The Lady Dragons wrap up their SCL regular season playing Piner tonight in Santa Rosa, before hosting Elsie Allen in the finale at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, in Pfeiffer Gym, with Sonoma honoring its five seniors in a pre-match ceremony.
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At last Thursday's match with Healdsburg in Pfeiffer Gym, Sonoma's varsity volleyball girls held an “M.V.P. Night” – Mikey’s Volleyball Pledge, which was a fundraiser supporting Sonoma senior Mike Seelye’s cancer fight against stage 4 Lymphoma.
“Mikey Seelye has been a die-hard Dragons’ volleyball supporter, often seen at every match front and center in the student cheering section, encouraging our volleyball team. Now we want to turn its support to Mikey, encouraging him as he serves up his own ace against cancer,” stated the Lady Dragons’ varsity volleyball team.
With spectators pledging amounts for every kill, ace, block, dig and assist the team scored, and the Healdsburg team also donating a dollar for every point it scored, more than $2,500 was raised.
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