Porterville Recorder

Panthers win in straight sets

- By NAYIRAH DOSU ndosu@portervill­erecorder.com

Portervill­e High School volleyball looked strong in their first home game of the season under their new head coach, Lisa Davis.

The Panthers (2-1) took down the Bullpups of Hanford 3-0 on Wednesday evening in a non-league match. Portervill­e won the sets 25-19, 25-12 and 25-13.

Kaitlyn Keovilaysa­ne led the team with 13 kills and moved to the ball well, making sure to be there for all her sets and stringing points together for the team with backto-back kills.

“She was our kill leader,” Davis said. “I just feel like we ran a balanced offense with getting that quick set and Kaitlyn going in and getting that kill, so that was really nice to see.”

Communicat­ion was a little shaky for the Panthers, but they put together good rallies to hold off a Bullpups (0-3) team that was not giving up. The first set was the toughest for Portervill­e to get out of and foreshad- owed its inability to put away games after taking a large lead. Hanford took advantage of late-set miscommuni­cations to prolong sets and score points.

“We need to learn how to close the door once you get to that point and get that 25th point, regardless of what the score is on the scoreboard,” Davis said. “So we’ll talk about that.”

Portervill­e libero Kai Keovilaysa­ne had a big night with 21 digs while Delanie True had a team-high 15 assists. PHOTO BY

The Panthers got great defense out of Kai Keovilaysa­ne and True who kept rallies alive by putting their bodies on the floor and getting to the ball.

After battling the heat all week and hav

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 ?? RECORDER CHIEKO HARA ?? Portervill­e High School’s Kaitlyn Keovilaysa­ne tips the ball over the volleyball net Wednesday during the match against Hanford High School at Portervill­e High School.
RECORDER CHIEKO HARA Portervill­e High School’s Kaitlyn Keovilaysa­ne tips the ball over the volleyball net Wednesday during the match against Hanford High School at Portervill­e High School.

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