Aptos High sophomore outside hitter Ella Dueck had 19 kills, four aces, 20 digs and three blocks in a five-set (25-23, 16-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-9) win over Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League girls volleyball action Oct. 22.
Junior right side Kenzie Smith had 12 kills on 21 attempts along with a pair of blocks for the Mariners. Fellow teammate senior libero Chloe Luis finished with two aces, four assists and 28 digs, while senior middle blocker Claire Willoughby added 14 kills and three aces.
“It was very evenly matched all night,” Aptos coach Hunter Zeng said. “Looking at the stats, both teams scored 55 kills on a similar number of attempts. The difference for us was a few more aces, runs in important moments, and players coming off the bench to contribute in huge ways.”
Zeng went on to say, “What a great celebration of our graduating seniors Brooke Gomez, Chloe Luis, Claire Willoughby, Kailey Farris, and Mackenzie Danish.”
Scoreboard
Prep football
Gonzales 28, at Pajaro Valley 13: Tony Garcia V scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half to help lift the Spartans past the Grizzlies in Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division play Oct. 26.
Pajaro Valley senior quarterback Miguel Solano found Isaias Villasana for a touchdown reception that gave them a 6-0 lead going into halftime. But then Gonzales scored 28 unanswered points en route to victory.
Eduardo Mendoza scored a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the Grizzlies (4-5, 3-2), who host San Lorenzo Valley (8-0, 4-0) on Nov. 9 at 12:30pm.
College football
Cabrillo 38, at Hartnell 7: Peyton Hatten had a career game with 303 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 34 carries for the Seahawks in their win against the Panthers in Golden Coast American Conference action Oct. 26.
Brooks Walker had 46 rushing yards and two TDs, while teammate Jamari Vaughns had one touchdown on the ground for Cabrillo (2-5, 2-2), which has won two straight. The Seahawks host Merced (2-5, 2-1) on Saturday at 6pm.
Girls tennis
Aptos 7, Soquel 0: The Mariners capped off the regular season with a sweeping victory over the Knights in SCCAL play Oct. 24.
In singles play, Kiana Safari, Aviana Andrews, Coral Collins and Isabella Calderon each won in straight sets.
Aptos’ duo of Natalia Calderon and Charlotte Long won at No. 1 doubles, Aracely Ritchie and Gia Arista won at No. 2, and Finn Gansauer-Pilcher and Gamble Kellermyer were victorious at No. 3.
The SCCAL Girls Tennis Championships for singles and doubles will be held at Imperial Courts Tennis Club in Aptos on Nov. 5. The first round begins at 10am, followed by the second round shortly after.
The championship matches are scheduled for Nov. 6 at 3:00 pm. Tournament location and times are subject to change.
Games of the Week
Pajaro Valley vs. Ceiba, girls volleyball, Tuesday at 6pm: The Grizzlies (16-9, 11-0) already wrapped up the PCAL Santa Lucia Division crown but they are looking to close out the season with a perfect record in league play in front of the home crowd against the Spartans in the teams’ regular season finale.
PCAL girls flag football tournament, Wednesday at 5pm: St. Francis and Watsonville each have a first round game PCAL Tournament Champion Bracket at Rancho San Juan High School in Salinas.
The No. 8 seed Wildcatz advanced into the Top-8 bracket following a 40-6 crushing win over Rancho San Juan High in Monday’s play-in game. Watsonville plays top seed Hollister, while No. 4 St. Francis plays No. 5 Alisal at 6:10pm.
St. Francis vs. Rancho San Juan, girls volleyball, Wednesday at 6pm: The Sharks (14-10, 6-7) are aiming to finish with a .500 record in the PCAL Cypress Division standings against the Trailblazers (12-12, 9-4) in the teams’ regular season finale in Watsonville.
Watsonville vs. Alisal, prep football, Friday at 7:30pm: Coming off a bye week, the Wildcatz (3-5, 1-3) will attempt to snap a three-game losing skid in a “home” game at Cabrillo College against a Trojans (4-4, 3-1) squad that has won two straight, including last week’s 50-7 blowout win over Seaside.
St. Francis vs. North Monterey County, prep football, Saturday at 12:30pm: The race for the PCAL Mission Division–North title got a lot more interesting now that the Sharks (6-2, 3-1) and Condors (5-3, 3-1) along with Alisal are tied for first in the league standings.
