THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

The Whitney High girls volleyball team rally near season’s end has put the playoff picture a little in doubt. Coming off a win over Oakmont, the Wildcats marched into Roseville and upset the Tigers 3-1 Monday. At 5-7 in Capital Valley Conference play, the ‘Cats are now just one game behind both Roseville and the Vikings with two league games remaining for all three teams. The CVC will receive four automatic bids into the playoffs, with Ponderosa and Cosumnes Oaks the only two clubs assured of a spot as of Monday. Bella Vista is 7-5, Oakmont and Roseville 6-6 and the Broncos appear to have the inside track on filling the third spot. The Vikes’ Wednesday match is at home against Del Campo (2-10) and in the Tigers’ den Monday. Roseville has to defeat Ponderosa (12-0) Wednesday to stay in the race and that appears doubtful. However, if the Bengals beat Oakmont, both teams could end up 7-7 and in a tie for the fourth spot. Whitney could also finish 7-7, but would have to defeat Cosumnes Oaks (10-2) Wednesday and Antelope (0-12) Monday. A win over the Titans is likely, but the Wolfpack would be a tall order. A bigger downside, Whitney ranks 53rd in the Sac-Joaquin Section, Roseville 47th and Oakmont 30th. Whitney 3, Roseville 1 After splitting the first two sets (25-18, 25-27), the Wildcats stepped up to stun the Tigers 25-19, 25-20. Whitney lost to Roseville 3-1 in their first meeting Sept. 20. Kaitlin Bullock and Kaylie Honberger registered 15 kills apiece and Kendall Gimenez slammed home 11. The ‘Cats had 48 kills to Roseville’s 34, but the Tigers won the blocking battle. The big difference was digging out the tough shots. Whitney had 112 digs compared to Roseville’s 82, plus the Tigers committed 29 errors on digs to the Wildcats’ 19. Whitney 3, Oakmont 0 The Wildcats handed visiting Oakmont a 3-0 setback Oct. 11; 3-0 victims of the Vikings Sept. 18, the Wildcats took out the Norsemen 25-22, 25-20 and 25-21. “Tonight, for us, we had really good ball control. We had great serves received. We had good defensive passes; our back row was really active,” said Whitney head coach Jeff LaShell, comparing his team’s play to the previous match with Oakmont. “They were delivering the ball to our setters in a way our hitters could take advantage of it.” In the final set, the Wildcats broke a 13-13 tie and held off Oakmont for the match victory. The Wildcats weakened the Vikings’ winning will in the first set, after the visitors battled back from five down and appeared to have Whitney on the ropes trailing by just one, 23-22. But after LaShell called a timeout, the ‘Cats took control for the win. LaShell said they went back to a lineup his assistant coach Bruce Honberger suggested earlier in the season, which did not work well then. However, it worked very well last week. “I think with the different lineup the chemistry is much better between the girls because it leaves all our best players on the court at all times,” said senior outside hitter Bullock. “When we had a different lineup and inserted players constantly rotating through it would be off a little bit.” Bullock said she plans to play at the next level following graduation and has been in negotiations with a couple colleges. Bullock was an integral part of last year’s CVC and section Division II championship team that graduated six seniors, one being conference MVP Macey Hayden. In the second set against Oakmont, the visitors appeared listless and trailed 20-13 at one point. The Vikes did come back and make it interesting before bowing out 25-20. Kaylie Honberger roamed the net for 13 kills, and Bullock and Sydney Lukanich had seven each. The ‘Cats had a total of 80 attacks and committed nine errors. Honberger also put 15 serves into play and Bullock had 14 serves with one ace. Sophomores Aubrey Miller and Gimenez combined for 20 serves. Gimenez also had three blocks, and Makena Zajec and Ashley Williams posted two each. Diving for digs were Honberger (7), Gimenez (4), Bullock (2) and Miller (2). Honberger received 17 Oakmont serves, Anji Bains 10 and Gimenez and Bullock have five apiece. “At this point, we’re looking for ‘Hey, what can we do to end the season on a high note,’” said LaShell. “I think we put the personnel in positions that they’re hungry for now, before they were confused.” JV – The Whitney High junior varsity defeated Oakmont 2-1, winning the deciding set 15-12.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WHITNEY TURNS TABLES TO DEFEAT ROSEVILLE, OAKMONT

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 10/18/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics