Sierra soccer, volleyball eliminated from postseason

For the second straight season, the Sierra College women's soccer team fell one game short of reaching the CCCAA State championship bracket – and to the same team that eliminated the Wolverines a year ago. Lake Tahoe handed Sierra a 2-0 loss Monday afternoon that ended the Wolverines' season. Sierra gave up two second-half goals that were the difference. Sierra finishes 2019 with a 21-4 record, its second straight season of posting at least 20 wins. Head coach Jason Gantt earned his 150th career victory at Sierra when the Wolverines defeated Clovis in the second round of the NorCal playoffs last week. Sierra was tied for seventh in the state with its 75 goals. Grace Vargas (Woodcreek) led the team with 27 goals, including four hat tricks, and 61 points. Paige Martinsen (Del Oro) scored 15 of her own with a team-leading .771 shot-on-goal percentage. Fellow sophomores Emma Schulz (Corona) and Frances Andrade (Antelope) combined for seven goals and 29 points while goalkeeper Jordan Higgins (Whitney) went 12-2 with three shutouts and 55 saves. Freshman standouts included Baleigh Zamudio (Woodcreek), who led the team with 14 assists, Quincy Gieck (Del Oro), Laney Paduveris (Whitney), Laura Prine (Golden Sierra), Bridget Pelzman (Foresthill), Andrea Cuevas (Lincoln) and Victoria Sullivan (Granite Bay). WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL The Sierra women's volleyball team took a tough, season-ending, five-set loss to Cabrillo last Saturday in the second round of the NorCal playoffs. The 15-25, 25-22, 11-25, 26-24, 5-15 loss snapped a 10-game win streak and denied the Wolverines a spot in the CCCAA State championships. It was the first time all season that Sierra had more hitting errors than kills. Sophomore setter Ashley Almond (East Nicolaus) nearly had a triple-double with nine kills, 12 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Bekah McGill (Nevada Union) had 17 assists and 10 digs while sophomore Alyssa Orteza (Placer) had 24 digs against Cabrillo. Sierra won its fourth consecutive Big 8 Conference title this season at 14-2 while going 22-8 overall. The Wolverines had three players with at least 200 kills, including a Big 8-leading 372 from Kaleya Sanchez (Del Norte), 271 from Jacy Dean (Colfax) and 200 from Almond. At the time the state tournament begins this weekend, Almond and McGill are the only pair of teammates in the state to each have at least 500 assists. Sierra currently ranks third in California as a team with 1,275 assists. Along with Almond and Orteza, Sierra will say goodbye to fellow sophomores Cloe Gunter (Valley Christian Academy) and Kristina Bueno (Amador). Along with Sanchez, Dean and McGill, Sierra also got key freshman contributions from Alyssa Lovell (Woodcreek), Khorin Banks (Bella Vista) and Abby Schimmel (Pleasant Valley). WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Heading into this weekend's Shasta College Crossover Tournament, the Wolverines are sitting at 6-2 overall and are ranked No. 8 in the state, according to the latest California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. Sophomore guard Kailee McCarrick (Whitney) is currently sixth in the state with 24.1 points per game. Freshman forward Kiki Griffin (Pleasant Grove) averages a double-double with 14.1 points and 12.4 boards, which is top-15 in the state. Other Wolverines averaging double-digit scoring so far are freshman guard Jenna Duley (Del Oro), who posts 11.4 points and also leads the team with 2.3 steals per contest, and sophomore guard Skyy Jackson (Granite Bay) at 10.4 a game. After the Shasta Tournament, Sierra is not scheduled to play again until Dec. 19 at Cosumnes River College. MEN'S BASKETBALL The Wolverines men's team is hoping a flip of the calendar will do some good. Sierra ended the month of November having lost five straight, including a 97-88 loss to Yuba College last Saturday. Karn Goraya (Reno-Nevada) led the Wolverines with 27 points and five assists and Krei Kyncy (Bella Vista) added 19 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. Goraya has been the team's leading scorer through the first seven games with a 14.4 scoring average. Mike Odom (Immanuel) is not far behind, going for 11.1 a night. Sierra looks to get back in the win column this weekend with a pair of games Thursday and Friday at College of the Redwoods.