<div>A new era arrived on Tuesday as the first league volleyball matches of the newly created Central Yosemite League took place across the area. And what an opening show was put on at the newly renovated Sharman Gym by visiting Redwood and Porterville in the inaugural match.Redwood, ranked No. 9 in the section by MaxPreps, was able to survive PHS 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 16-14 to come away with the opening night victory.PHS lost the first two games and a lot of it had to do with serving errors. Through the first two games PHS gave away 11 points from serving mistakes.Even though the first two games were close, Redwood led both games the majority of the way. In game 3 PHS was able to jump out to a 6-3 advantage early, using kills from Emma Contreras, Alexa Ramirez and Samantha Dolan.Redwood fought back, running off 5 straight points to go up 8-6. The Panthers countered that with a 6 point run. They got a kill from Contreras in that run but were beneficiaries of 5 Redwood hitting errors in that run to take a 12-8 advantage. The Panthers get a kill from freshman Kaydence Lopez and a pair of aces from Melody Gonzalez to improve their lead to 18-11. Redwood tried to claw their way back into the game by cutting the Panther deficit to 21-20. However the Panthers finished strong with kills from Contreras and Ramirez to win it 25-21.Game 4 was a back and forth affair as well. With the game tied at 6 PHS was able to go on a 5-1 run. Annie Yorba provided a spark wit 2 kills in that run. Redwood made a run of their own, coming back to tie things at 12. A lot of the Rangers damage on the night was done by senior outside hitter Katelynn May who had 23 kills for the Rangers. A block by Lopez and an ace by Gonzalez put PHS up 16-13. Yorba and Gonzalez had back to back kills to put PHS up 21-18. Yorba's kill put them up 24-21 and then a Ranger hitting error gave PHS the game 4 win to tie things at 2 games apiece.Porterville went up 2-0 to start game 5, but Redwood came storming back and went on a 12-2 run to take a 12-4 advantage. PHS however fought their way back into the set. Two kills from Contreras and an ace from Yorba made it 12-8. After a passing error gave Redwood a 13-8 lead PHS came back with back to back kills from Contreras and a tip kill by Gonzalez to make it 13-12. A kill by May put the Rangers up 14-12, but the Panthers responded with kills of their own from Lopez and Serenity Julian to tie the set at 14. However May put the game away with back to back kills for the Rangers, giving Redwood a 16-14 win to take the match.Despite the loss, Panthercoach Sai Keovilaysane was proud of the way his players fought back in the match. “I’m proud of how we kept fighting. Sometimes you have to keep making adjustments until you find what works, and our players responded. We recorded 87 digs, with our libero, Vivian Dolan, leading with 24. She’s our anchor on defense and in serve receive. Annie Yorba added 17 digs and passed well.”As mentioned earlier, the Panthers struggled with serving in the first two games. “We needed to settle down and be aggressive, not reckless. After 11 serving errors in the first two sets, we served 96 percent in the third. Emma Contreras gave us consistency at the line, serving 96 percent while also contributing 10 kills and 11 digs. Addison Clower gave us a boost with her serving and passing when we really needed it. Sometimes someone needs to step in and take pressure off a teammate, and she did that,” said Keovilaysane regarding the early serving problems.Despite the loss Keovilaysayne talked about what he learned about his team in the loss. “We were reminded how quickly energy and momentum can swing in volleyball. Our players kept fighting and making adjustments until we found what worked. Our two freshmen, Serenity Julian and Kaydence Lopez, contributed nine and seven kills, respectively. They’re playing big roles, and that’s a lot of pressure for young players, especially against a team like Redwood. I’m confident their consistency and impact will continue to grow. We showed we can compete, but we have to start faster out of the gate and stay aggressive, not reckless.”Despite the loss PHS is still 14-5 on the season. They will travel El Diamante today to continue league play.</div>

Block Source: Porterville Recorder

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A new era arrived on Tuesday as the first league volleyball matches of the newly created Central Yosemite League took place across the area. And what an opening show was put on at the newly renovated Sharman Gym by visiting Redwood and Porterville in the inaugural match. Redwood, ranked No....

Redwood VB edges PHS in thriller

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A new era arrived on Tuesday as the first league volleyball matches of the newly created Central Yosemite League took place across the area. And what an op

Redwood VB edges PHS in thriller

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