Wolf Pack wins in 5
-
1 of 6By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Golden Valley High's Mariah Cheatham goes up to slam the ball against Ridgeview High Thursday night.
click to collapse -
2 of 6By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Golden Valley High's Valentina Rodriguez goes to hit the ball in mid-court to keep the ball in play against Ridgeview High.
click to collapse -
3 of 6
By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Ridgeview High's Rebecca Babb goes to block in their game against Golden Valley Thursday.
click to collapse -
4 of 6
By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Ridgeview High's # 9 Jacquelyn Johnson, center, gets into position as Natalie Castro, left, keeps the ball in play and # 6 Rebecca Babb keeps an eye on the play against Golden Valley High Thursday night.
click to collapse -
5 of 6
By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Golden valley High's #2 Mariah Cheatham and Ridgeview High's # 6 Rebecca Babb take the battle to the net in their Thursday night volleyball game.
click to collapse -
6 of 6
By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian
Golden Valley High's Mariah Cheatham keeps the ball in play in front of the Golden Valley bench in their game against Ridgeview High Thursday night.
click to collapse
BY STEPHEN LYNCH Special to The Californian
After a dominating first game, the Ridgeview High volleyball team looked like it was on its way to a quick and easy victory over visiting Golden Valley on Thursday night.
Instead, the match proved to be quite difficult for the Wolf Pack, which narrowly outlasted the Bulldogs, 25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-7, in a showdown between South Yosemite League rivals.
Fighting to stay alive after Golden Valley won two straight games, Ridgeview took control of the fourth game with a late 8-0 run that was fueled by a pair of kills by Jacquelyn Johnson.
The Wolf Pack (15-5, 2-0 SYL) then dominated the final game, pulling out to a 9-4 lead en route to beating the defending SYL champion.
"It was quite a match," Ridgeview coach Ernie Perez-Leon said. "We started off strong. Took them to an 11-4 lead and then kind of got a little complacent. I think Golden Valley brought a lot of heart. They brought a lot of game that we, I think, underestimated.
"In the end we found our heart. We found our way back to our goals."
Johnson, a junior outside hitter, led the Wolf Pack with 20 kills. Leslie Rosales added 12 kills, 15 digs, three aces, and two blocks for Ridgeview.
"We pushed hard, persevered and got the win, Johnson said. "We fell apart in the beginning, but the main thing is we came together as a team at the end."
Geanaee Browden paced Golden Valley, with nine kills. Valentina Rodriguez chipped in 24 digs and four aces for the Bulldogs, who won the second and third games playing strong defense and forcing Ridgeview to make multiple kill attempts on almost every rally.
The Wolf Pack hurt itself in the two games it lost, committing five serving errors during each.
Ridgeview regained its composure for the start of the fourth game as it jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
Golden Valley (5-8, 1-1 SYL) eventually knotted things up 10-10 on Mariah Cheatham's hard spike through the teeth of the Ridgeview defense.
But up 15-14, the Wolf Pack scored the next eight points to all but ensure a fifth game.
"It was a hard-fought (match)," Golden Valley coach Jill Halling said. "Ridgeview was just banging the ball. I can't take anything away from them. We're young. I have a whole new team. I graduated 11 seniors last year. I have a whole new mix. All new personalities and we're just working it out. We'll get there."
Perez-Leon thought Ridgeview's fast start may have caused it to underestimate Golden Valley.
"We kind of lost our focus in the middle but got back on track late in the match and found our way back to taking care of the little things," Perez-Leon said. "We began playing together as a team. We've been working on all these things in the end I think they brought it for the last game."
Ridgeview turned things around after coming together for a team huddle during a fourth-game timeout.
"I have to give credit to the girls for that," Perez-Leon said. "In the timeout they just kind of buckled down. They just laid it out there and said 'we got to get this. We want this. We know we're capable. We need to get after it and get it.'
"Game 5 they came out and were on a mission. Nothing was going to get in they're way."
Most CommentedMost Popular
A 25-year-old man who died in Kern County sheriff’s custody Monday night had two plastic baggies with illegal drugs stuffed in his throat, the department reported.
The family of David Silva announced Friday it has filed its long-expected federal civil rights claims against the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, six sheriff’s deputies and a sergeant, two California Highway Patrol officers, the county and the state alleging excessive police force killed him.
He’s Dr. Merle Haggard now. The bad-boy hero of the rebel strain of music that put Bakersfield on America’s cultural map half a century ago did something Friday he hadn’t done since he was 9: He sat still in school.
SACRAMENTO -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority won approval Thursday from a federal railroad oversight board to start construction this summer on the first leg of what would be the nation's first bullet train.
A Bakersfield attorney’s rocky marriage, marked by a divorce suit and a history of loud, public arguments, reportedly erupted into violence early Wednesday morning when police say he turned a gun on his wife and fired.
A woman found dead in a southeast Bakersfield garage Tuesday was identified Friday as 18-year-old Mia Ramirez of Bakersfield.
A 25-year-old man who died in Kern County sheriff’s custody Monday night had two plastic baggies with illegal drugs stuffed in his throat, the department reported.
At long last, Bakersfield officials see light at the end of the freeway.