Giants women's volleyball to spread out attack in pursuit of eighth straight playoff berth

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

College of the Sequoias women's volleyball team made a seventh consecutive trip to the California Community College Athletic Association's Northern California Regional playoffs last season behind the state's most dominant offensive force.

Where will the Giants' offense come from in 2023 now that Mia Gilcrest -- who produced a state-leading 561 kills while earning NorCal All-Region honors last season -- has taken her considerable talents to Fresno Pacific University?

Coach Kim Rix said the attack will flow through several different players when Sequoias opens the season Aug. 30 with matches against Folsom Lake at 4:30 p.m. and host Solano at 6:30 p.m. in Fairfield.

"Mia was such an incredible player and we were very dependent on her," said Rix, entering her 10th season as coach of the Giants. "This year I think we can balance it out a little more. We were fortunate Mia never had a bad game (last season,) but if she had, it really would have affected us. This year, we'll spread our offense out. I hope that will benefit us in the long run."

Sequoias will have some experienced players at the net with a group of retuners led by 5-foot-11 outside hitter Daniela Gonzalez, who helped the team go 21-8 overall and 14-2 in the Central Valley Conference last season. Gonzalez (Delano High) delivered 253 kills, 44 digs and 21 blocks as the Giants finished ranked No. 21 in the state and No. 10 in NorCal by the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association.

Sequoias also has experienced front court players in 5-10 middle blocker Kiah Fox (Los Molinos), 5-10 opposite hitter Jennifer Meneces (Redwood) and 5-9 opposite Makinzie Albright (Woodlake). Fox had 40 kills and 38 blocks last season, Meneces had 15 kills and two blocks, and Albright contributed eight kills and seven blocks when she last played in 2021.

Newcomers expected to bolster the Giants' offensive attack include 5-9 outside hitters Emmerson Gardner (Washington Union-Easton), Vianka Martinez (Golden West) and Claire Toliver (Kingsburg); 5-7 opposite Kylie Cutler (Golden West); 5-11 middle blocker Olivia Samaniego (McFarland) and 5-9 middle blocker Trinity Frederick (Mt. Whitney). Gardner had 453 kills, Martinez had 237 kills and Cutler had 146 kills during their senior seasons in high school according to statistics recorded on Maxpreps.com.

The Giants will be breaking in a new setter after last year's starter, Brooke Hatch (Immanuel), elected not to play in 2023 despite another season of eligibility. She made 910 assists -- third most in the state -- as a freshman.

Kaylyn Cabanas, a 5-5 sophomore from Redwood, had 42 assists as Hatch's backup last season. Also competing for time at setter will be 5-8 Kassandra Perez-Moran (El Diamante), 5-7 Julieanne Gerbrandt (Dinuba) and 5-6 Maisyn Dean (Mt. Whitney), all freshmen. Gerbrandt had 761 assists during her senior high school season.

"It's a faster paced game, but they are stepping up to the challenge," Rix said.

In the back row, Sequoias has a returning libero in 5-6 Jacquelyn Luna (El Diamante), who had 365 digs last season; and defensive specialists in 5-5 Susan Cordova (Mission Oak) and 5-5 Tyler Lopez (Mt. Whitney). Cordova, who was needed as an opposite last season because of injury, made 34 digs and Lopez had 12 digs last season.

Arissa Juarez, a 5-7 freshman from Tulare Western, will also compete for time as a defensive specialist. She made 287 digs at Tulare Western last season.

"We have a nice group of returners this year with experience who know how the program runs," Rix said. "And our freshmen have done a great job of stepping up to the next level. It's so fun to bring these girls in and see them playing at a higher level and just thriving. They are being challenged by stronger players and they are stepping up."

Sequoias plays its first home matches against Sierra at noon and American River at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Porter Field House.

The Giants open CVC play at 6 p.m. Sept. 13 at home against Porterville.

Sequoias will look to extend a streak of four straight championship seasons of at least 20 wins, and make an eight consecutive trip to the playoffs in 2023.

Last season, the Giants were seeded seventh in the NorCal Regionals before losing 15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22 against No. 10 West Valley in a second-round match.

"We're just focused on playing to our full potential," Rix said. "We can only control the way we play. Our goals are really high, but we know we have to work really hard if we want to make the playoffs this year."