Giants' volleyball posts pair of conference sweeps

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

College of the Sequoias' women's volleyball team continued to bolster its case for a postseason berth with a pair of sweeps last week.

The Giants beat Reedley 25-16, 25-10, 25-4 on Sept. 29 and topped Porterville 25-10, 25-19, 25-17 on Oct. 1 -- both at Porter Field House -- to improve to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the Central Valley Conference.

Sequoias has made five consecutive trips to the Northern California Regional playoffs during complete championship seasons. There were no state playoffs during the spring when Sequoias was among a handful of community colleges across the state that played an abbreviated volleyball season after safety precautions related to the Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of all state playoffs.

The Giants are ranked No. 16 in the state by the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches' Association.

Mia Gilcrest (Redwood) led Sequoias against Reedley (1-7, 0-5) with 12 kills and eight digs.

The Giants also received seven kills apiece from Hazel Martinez (Mission Oak) and Morgan Hatton (Tulare Union), and four kills from Jayda English (Lemoore). Kia Campbell (Coalinga) had 19 assists and 12 digs, Abigail Billingsley (Redwood) had nine assists and Andrea Jauregui added 13 digs.

Against Porterville (5-9, 2-4), Allyson Garcia (Dinuba) powered Sequoias with 14 kills and two digs. Gilcrest added 12 kills and 12 digs, while Martinez and Brenna Crabtree (Woodlake) contributed five kills each. Campbell and Billingsley each had 16 assists to feed the offense, while Jauregui led the back row with 16 digs.

Sequoias has two conference home matches scheduled for this week: at 5 p.m. Oct. 6 against Columbia (1-9, 0-4) and 6 p.m. Oct. 8 against West Hills-Lemoore (3-8, 2-2). Admission into Porter Field House is $5 and spectators are required to wear a mask in observance of Covid-19 safety precautions.