Panthers sweep Spartans 3-0
Porterville picks up 3-0 win at home
They might be small but Porterville High School’s volleyball team proved they’re scrappy and have fight in their 3-0 win over Strathmore in Wednesday’s game between the two CIF Central Section Division IV programs at Bill Sharman Gymnasium in Porterville.
Whether it was outside hitter Kaitlyn Keovilaysane drawing back for one of her 13 powerful kills on the night, libero Kaila Keovilaysane moving her feet and hustling after every ball for 21 digs, or setter Avery Wingfield setting her teammates up perfectly with 24 assists; the Panthers (10-3) played like a team and had fun getting in a victory.
Porterville won the sets 2514, 25-20 and 25-15 but it was in the second set that the team showed the most fight after coming from behind six points. A tip from Wingfield and backto-back kills from Kaitlyn Keovilaysane helped tie the set at 15-15 before the Panthers scored four more points straight to build a lead they’d carry until the end of the set.
“We’ve kind of had the secondset blues,” PHS head coach Lisa Davis said. “I think the last two weeks we’ve lost in the second set and [during a timeout] I just talked about, you know we want to get out of that rut. We want to change the tempo of the secondset blues and part of it was the energy. Our lack of energy going into the second set. And so they turned that energy around and it really started to pick up and as soon as we did that we were able to come back.”
In the front row, Porterville was able to withstand strong hits from players like East Sequoia League MVP Emily Kissick, Paige Borges and Lucy Bennett but when the ball did get through, the Panthers coverage was exceptional at times and usually led by Kaila Keovilaysane.
“She’s a top libero in this whole part of the Valley,” Davis said. “She just reads the ball really well, communicates with her team really well. She’s a great anchor for us in bringing everyone together. And she’s only a junior.”
On the team’s ability to compete despite their height, Davis said, “I think we just have really good team chemistry and communicate really well. We’re
quick on our feet and that makes up for the lack of height. So we extend rallies because of the defense.”
Also for Porterville, Kaitlyn Keovilaysane had a “good defensive game” with 10 digs. Kaila Keovilaysane also finished with three aces while Fallon Alviso had eight kills and four aces.
First-year SHS head coach Sonny Perez said that the team is still learning how to play like a team and have a lot of work to be done. Perez, who has coached at the University of Nevada, Reno; Exeter, Tulare Western and Edison High Schools; says the team has everything they need to compete at the higher level, they just need to believe in themselves.
“I hate the word potential, only because it means you'll never develop and it will always be the potential,” Perez said. “I hear that our conference isn't very strong but I don't know. Especially with us we pick and choose when we want to play and we will continue to be an up and down team. I feel like we have the players to compete at whatever level but first we have to convince ourselves that we belong.”
Up next, Porterville is headed to another tournament beginning Friday in Madera while Strathmore prepares for next week's home game, and first ESL game, against Granite Hills.