Coast Union sweeps three in league volleyball opener
Head coach Pam Kenyon reported that Karis Lawson had three kills and eight aces. Haley Zinn racked up 12 aces and had four kills. Gigi Stoothoff added six kills and seven aces. Coast is 3-4 on the season overall and 1-0 in CVL play.
Kenyon said Stoothoff is “rock solid every single time we play. In every practice she gives 100 percent, and she’s a wonderful leader. I am so thankful that we have her and her leadership.
“She’s so great I wish we had her for one more year. She’s a junior, isn’t she?” Kenyon added in jest.
On Tuesday, Coast Union entertained Cuyama Valley in a CVL match and swept the three games 25-8, 25-14, 25-13. Stoothoff was once again the Lady Broncos’ leader on the court, finishing with nine kills and four aces.
Ailyn Casas chipped in with seven aces and five kills for Coast. Ahtziri Mora had 13 assists, and Lawson contributed six kills. Coast Union is 4-4 overall, and 2-0 in the CVL. The next home match is Tuesday, Oct. 4, against Valley Christian Academy, a 6 p.m. start.
Cross-Country
The Coast Union cross-country team took on a bigger school, Santa Maria, on Wednesday Sept. 21 at Coast Union, and the Broncos’ top male (Paul Butterfield) and female (Vanessa Ramirez) runners ran fifth and third, respectively.
Running on the home course, which is approximately three miles long (a normal 5K is 3.1 miles), Butterfield finished in a time of 16 minutes, 45 seconds, and Ramirez clocked in at 23:07.
On the boys side Colby Ratzat came in 20th (19:49); Cesar Hernandez was 22nd (20:30); Ethan Walters, 23rd (21:03); Alam Romo, 26th (22:00); David May, 29th (23:30); and David Nolan, 30th (23:37).
The girls finishers included Karina Mendoza, 7th (23:45); Fabby Gonzalez, 11th (25:02); Maria Ramirez, 16th (25:15); Sujey Gutierrez, 20th (26:20); and Maria Castillo, 22nd (27:10).
Coach Jim Hurley, who shares coaching duties with Ayen Johnson, said Butterfield ran the course in about the same time he did last year. “Probably the biggest improvement,” he said, was Cesar, who ran the course four minutes faster than last year’s time.
“Next Saturday (Oct. 1), we run in the Atascadero Invitational and we’ll be against small schools, so it will give us our first chance to run against schools closer to our size.”
What about the heat in Atascadero on Saturday? Hurley was asked.
“The girls run at 8 and the boys run at 8:30 in the morning, so it might even be a little chilly out there,” he said.
The next home competition for the Broncos is at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5 against Mission Prep.
Tennis
Coast Union’s tennis match against Templeton on Wednesday, Sept. 21, ended up with the Lady Broncos on the short end of the 12-6 score. Coach Tom Coxwell reported that Michelle Campos lost one set (3-6) but won her second and third sets (6-0, 6-1), and Annika Marthaler’s scores were 1-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Zoe Markham had scores of 6-1, 0-6 and 5-7. The doubles pair of Lindy Ortiz and Jasmine Kelleher scored 2-6, 6-3 and 4-6.
Coxwell said the Templeton coach referred to Ortiz as a player “on fire.” The Templeton coach said her players were intimidated by Ortiz. The Broncos coach said Ortiz played her sets like she owned the court.
The team needs more of Ortiz’s assertiveness, Coxwell added. He also praised Markham for being “coachable,” for having “great form,” saying she “strikes the ball with power.”
The team also lost to Morro Bay 16-2 on Friday, Sept. 23. Campos, the team’s top seed, turned her ankle in her first match and was not able to play the remainder of the match. The wins for Coast were a 6-2 singles set victory for Marthaler, and a doubles win for the team of Ani Corbet and Markham (6-3).
Coxwell uses various inspirational quotes to motivate his team. Recently he borrowed a phrase from the late John Wooden, called “The eight laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Coast Union sweeps three in league volleyball opener."