Flames finish season sweep over Tigers
Both teams may have been playing for pride at this point, but that didn’t make Tuesday’s showdown between Lodi and Tokay’s volleyball teams at the Inferno any less competitive.
For the second time this season, Lodi recovered from a slow start to get the best of their cross-town rivals, winning 18-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 to complete the season sweep.
“It’s senior night and they come out with a lot of emotion. We had a slow start,” Lodi coach Brad Friesen said. “I thought we made a come back in the first set because we were way down by 10 and we made a run.
“...They came back and I was encouraged with our momentum at that point.”
Gracie Diaz led the Flames with eight kills, along with seven from Paige Mattei and five each from Kaylie Sauerland and Madelyn Blandford. Sauerland and Diaz had five blocks each, Blandford had 18 digs and Katie Peterson had 17 digs.
“I was pleased with our serving,” Friesen said. “It was right on the money and we weren’t getting enough aces but we were getting a lot of bad passes coming back to us.”
Kayly Pau led the Tigers with 17 kills, four aces and six digs. Grace Polhemus added 32 digs and three aces, Natalie Polhemus had 17 digs, 14 assists and five kills, Cianna Guidi had four aces, four kills and seven digs, Belle Patino
had three aces and five digs, Sierra Wichman had 10 digs, three kills and two blocks, Frankie Newbanks had 10 digs and Caroline Greenley and Natalie Adams had five digs each.
Lodi finished the season above .500, going 15-14 overall and 2-8 in the Tri-City Athletic League. Tokay finished 12-22 and 0-10 in the TCAL.
Both teams, though, have young players coming back to form squads that should be more competitive in the TCAL over the next few years. Tokay graduates five seniors (Newbanks, Guidi, Nicole Segovia, Kassandra Erickson and Audrey Sharp), but boasts youngsters like sophomore Pau, freshman Grace Polhemus and junior Natalie Polhemus.
Lodi, meanwhile, graduates two seniors in Elliana Pappas and Mattei, with a big group of sophomores coming up.
“We have to freshmen and three sophomores,” Friesen said. “And to add some pieces to the puzzle and get to work with them and just get better, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”