Stallions suffer sweep to Bullard Knights
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Arelis Chavez tried to lead the Stallions against Bullard, but the Stallions succumbed to the Knights in three sets.
FRESNO — A young Bullard-Fresno Knights girls volleyball team capitalized on its home court advantage and dominated the Madera South Stallions.
The Knights, who feature one senior and plenty of underclassmen on the roster, took a 3-0 win against the Stallions.
Madera South head coach Travis McEowen said his team failed to do anything right in the loss.
“It was all on our side,” he said. “We weren’t prepared.”
The teams went back-and-forth in the first set until the Knights pulled ahead and built a 16-12 lead. Madera South responded to cut the lead to one, but only to see the Knights build the lead back up to three.
Arelis Chavez then tallied two straight kills to pull the Stallions back within a point. The Knights, however, put together another run and won the set 25-23 when Bailey Arreola nailed the final kill.
The Stallions started strong in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead after a kill from Chavez. Bullard quickly erased the Stallions’ momentum, taking a 7-6 lead and continued to expand the gap.
Arreola was especially a problem for the Stallions, scoring three straight points to help the Knights take a 14-7 lead. Sadie Blickenstaff then followed up with a block to expand the gap for Bullard.
After a kill from Chavez, Jacky Guglielmana added another point to cut the deficit. The Knights then committed a rotation violation, allowing the Stallions to cut the lead to five.
Bullard’s Emily Eltrich scored two straight points in the late stages, including a service ace, to give the Knights set point.
Bianca Guevara went up high for the kill to keep the Stallions alive, but the Knights took the set 25-20 after a sideout.
“We didn’t come out. We didn’t do what we had to do,” McEowen said.
It was another back-and-forth action early in the third set, which was tied at seven before the Knights built a three-point lead. With the Knights leading 23-18, the Stallions put together one more run to give themselves a chance to survive.
Jacky Granados’ kill fueled the Stallions’ run, which continued with two straight sideouts and a net violation by the Knights.
Eltrich then came up with a kill to end the Stallions’ momentum and give set point for the Knights. The Stallions’ hope officially died when Sadie Blickenstaff closed it out with an emphatic kill, giving the Knights a 25-23 win in the third set and a sweep at home.
“Bullard let up at the end and they made some mistakes,” McEowen said. “We didn’t earn anything from that. We didn’t do anything right.”
