Coyotes eliminated from playoffs

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Madera’s Paul Childers gets a kill past the Pioneer Valley double block during Tuesday’s Div. II Central Section first-round playoff match. Unfortunately, Pioneer Valley defeated the Coyotes in four sets.

---

The Madera Coyotes boys volleyball team was given the No. 7 seed in the Div. II Central Section playoffs, but the No. 10 seeded Pioneer Valley Panthers had other plans with a four-set victory in the first round.

The Coyotes stumbled throughout the match and couldn’t keep any momentum and fell 25-21, 26-24, 25-21, 25-15 Tuesday in Joe Flores Gym.

“We picked a bad day to not play at our best,” head coach Rhonda Jefferson said. “We closed out the season playing well, but we couldn’t shake off the cobwebs this week. I feel for these boys. We’ve played shorthanded all year and I wished the boys could have had a better ending.”