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Volleyball Pictures at the TC Photo site
Cougars finish season with sweep
--posted 11/16/06 Taft College didn’t manage a four-peat, but the Cougar volleyball team did finish the season with a sweep of West Hills College in Coalinga.
The Cougars won the Central Valley Conference crown the last three years, but this season risk missing the state playoffs with their fourth-place finish.
The scores were 30-24, 30-13, and 30-19.
“We got off to a slow start in game one,” said head coach Kanoe Bandy, “but once we got going we picked up the pace.”
West Hills led by four at one point before the Cougars overtook the Falcons and cruised the remainder of the match.
“It was a good way to end the season,” Bandy said.
Sophomore middle Sarah Van Noy and freshman outside hitter Shannon Todd paced the Cougars.
Van Noy had 13 kills, 10 defensive digs and five blocks while Todd contributed 16 kills and 12 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Brittany Evans had 15 kills and sophomore middle Maua Manuma 13 kills and four blocks.
Freshman Tellie Ducharm had two kills, four blocks and two digs.
Darlene Medieros led the Cougars at the service line by going 20-of-21 for 14 points and five aces.
Todd was 17-of-19 for 11 points and an ace, Manuma was 12-of-16 for nine points and three aces, Evans 11-of-12 for seven points and Van Noy 11-of-11 for six points and an ace.
Vernadine Vickers had 10 defensive digs and was 10-of-10 from the service line for five points and an ace.
The Cougars finished the regular season with a 9-7 conference record, 12-14 overall.
Sequoias sweeps Cougars in home finale
--posted 11/11/06 Conference pacesetter College of the Sequoias took a big step toward unseating three-time conference champion Taft College with a Wednesday night sweep in the Cougar Sports Center.
The Giants all but clinched the Central Valley Conference crown with a 30-26, 30-22, 30-26 victory that boosted their record to 12-1 heading into the final week of action.
The Cougars are 8-7 in the conference and 10-12 overall as they get ready for Saturday’s Santa Rosa Classic where they will play the hosts and West Valley.
TC will wrap up the season next Wednesday in Coalinga against West Hills College, a team they swept at home in the first round of conference play.
But they will probably be without the services of 6-foot outside hitter and middle Michelle Myers who may have broken her ankle in the third game of the Sequoias match.
Myers was looking forward to the weekend tournament too.
She played at Elsie Allen High in Santa Rosa.
Sarah Van Noy and Shannon Todd paced the Cougars.
Sophomore middle Van Noy scored 15 kills, had one stuff block and dug 12 balls on defense.
Freshman Todd had 13 kills, 18 digs and two blocks—one of them a stuff.
Brittany Evans had eight kills, seven digs and one stuff block.
Before she was injured, Myers had seven kills and a block.
Her replacement, Maua Manuma had four digs and a kill.
“She did a great job coming off the bench,” assistant coach Lisa Borrecco said.
Defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers had seven digs and setter Darlene Medieros tossed up 40 assists.
The Cougars led most of the way in the first game, maintaining a slim lead until the Giants took control.
TC led 22-19 before Sequoias went on an 11-4 run to seize momentum.
COS had a 7-2 run early in the second game and maintained a two to three point lead until the Cougars caught them and took an 18-17 lead.
That momentum shift was brief, though.
COS reeled off the next seven points and never looked back.
The Cougars battled in the third game, staying close, but never catching up.
They trailed by two (26-28) after Manuma blocked a shot, but Medieros served into the net and the Giants finished it off.
Volleyball team hosts canned food drive
--posted 11/6/06 Taft College’s volleyball team will be hosting its annual canned food drive for Thanksgiving baskets Wednesday when the Cougars host undefeated Central Valley Conference leader College of the Sequoias.
The match will begin at 7 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to bring canned food items that will be used for the campus food drive.
The Cougars are winding down the season, and they are doing it in a fashion that head coach Kanoe Bandy doesn’t like at all.
After winning three conference titles in a row, TC is facing the possibility of missing the playoffs.
“I’ve never had a team that just gave up, but that may be what we are doing,” she said after the Cougars were swept Friday by conference runner-up Reedley. “We had some freshmen who played like they didn’t believe we had a chance to win.”
She believes her team has the talent, but the will is waning.
“We are a lot better team than we are playing right now, and that is the frustrating thing.”
After hosting the unbeaten Giants, the Cougars will play Santa Rosa and West Valley Saturday in the Santa Rosa Classic, then wrap up the season with a conference match Nov. 15 at West Hills College in Coalinga.
Bandy said she was not looking forward to playing Reedley after the Tigers dropped a tough five-game match to COS two nights earlier.
“You don’t want to play a good team after they have lost a tough match the way they did,” she said. “Reedley won the first two games and then lost the next three.”
The result for the Cougars was a 13-30, 21-30 and 24-30 loss.
“Reedley was really looking for redemption and they played very well.”
Sarah Van Noy had 10 kills, eight digs and two blocks, Brittney Evans had eight kills and five digs, Shannon Todd eight kills and 12 digs, and Michelle Myers three kills and eight digs.
Vernadine Vickers had 11 digs and was 12-of-12 at the service line for seven points and an ace. Evans was 12-of-13 for seven points and two aces.
Modesto upends Cougars in volleyball
--posted 11/3/06 Taft College’s quest for another trip to the state volleyball playoffs may have been derailed Tuesday when the Cougars dropped a four-game match at Modesto J.C.
“We are going to need some help from other schools,” said head coach Kanoe Bandy of her fourth-place team’s chances of getting to the playoffs.
“But we need to help ourselves too. We can do that by beating Reedley Friday.”
The Cougars play second place Reedley on the road, host first place College of the Sequoias next Wednesday and close out the regular season at last place West Hills on Nov. 10.
Bandy said her team was neither physically nor mentally prepared for Modesto.
The Cougars played and lost a five-game match at Fresno on Friday, then played San Joaquin Delta and Feather River in a Saturday tournament in Stockton.
“Then we had to come back on Tuesday and make the trip to Modesto,” she said. We played tired, and we were mentally unprepared.”
The Cougars swept the Pirates at home in the first round of conference play.
Sarah Van Noy had 17 kills and 12 digs to pace the Cougars against Modesto.
Brittany Evans had 11 kills and 25 digs and Michelle Myers had six kills and four blocks.
The Cougars are 8-5 in the conference and 11-10 overall.
Long weekend for Cougar volleyball
--posted 10/30/06 It was a long weekend for the Taft College volleyball team.
On Friday, the Cougars dropped a tough five-game Central Valley Conference match at Fresno City College.
On Saturday, they lost a non-conference match in Stockton to the state’s No. 1 team—San Joaquin Delta.
But later that day, the Cougars bounced back to defeat Feather River College in another non-conference clash.
The result is the Cougars head into the homestretch of the season with 11-9 overall and 8-4 conference records and a shot at the playoffs.
(Kanoe comment)
TC is at Modesto and Reedley this week, hosts undefeated College of the Sequoias Nov. 8, plays in the Santa Rosa Classic Nov. 11, and finishes the conference grind at West Hills in Coalinga on Nov. 15.
In the Fresno match, the Cougars surged out to a good start, winning the first two games, 30-28 and 30-26, but couldn’t maintain the momentum.
The Rams fought back to win 30-18 and 30-17 to force a tie-breaker they won 15-10.
Sarah Van Noy led the way for Taft with 20 kills and 19 defensive digs while Shannon Todd had 17 digs and Michelle Myers a season-high 10 blocks.
Cougars sweep Porterville
--posted 10/26/06 Taft College was ready for Porterville’s tall lefty in Wednesday night’s Central Valley Conference volleyball match in Porterville.
The Cougars had practiced hitting around six-foot sophomore right side hitter Emilie Ongas, who is an outstanding blocker, and doing some things on defense to try to blunt her effectiveness as a hitter.
But they didn’t need that because Ongas was ill and did not play in the Cougars’ 30-18, 30-22, 30-13 sweep that improved Taft to 8-3 in the conference, 10-7 overall.
“We went ahead with our game plan, though, in case we need to use it again some time,” said head coach Kanoe Bandy.
She said that despite Ongas’ absence, her team still had to work hard for the win.
“Porterville is a well-coached team. They don’t make many mistakes. They pass very well and their serve-receive is very strong. They made us work, but they definitely missed their big lefty.”
Shannon Todd led the way with her 14 kills and nine defensive digs. She also had a big night at the service line, getting all 23 of her serves in for 17 points. She had six aces.
“She didn’t have any service errors, and that is crucial for us,” Bandy said.
Sarah Van Noy had eight kills, five blocks and 11 digs, Michelle Myers seven kills, two blocks and eight digs, and Brittney Evans seven kills, one block and six digs.
Bandy was especially pleased with the work of freshman defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers who had 10 digs.
“She got to balls that she didn’t get two weeks ago. She is getting better all the time and gaining more confidence.”
The Cougars are currently in fourth place in the CVC behind undefeated College of the Sequoias and Fresno and Reedley, who both have two losses.
TC will be in Stockton Saturday to play undefeated San Joaquin Delta, the No. 1 team in California.
“They are very talented,” Bandy said. “They haven’t even lost a single game in tournament play let alone a match.”
After playing Delta, the Cougars will play Feather River in the Delta gym.
Next week they travel to Modesto and Reedley before getting back to the more familiar confines of the Cougar Sports Center on Nov. 8 when they host front-runner Sequoias.
Cougars sweep Merced
--posted 10/23/06 Taft College struggled a bit in the first game, but recovered to breeze to a 31-29, 30-20, 30-20 Central Valley Conference volleyball sweep Friday over visiting Merced College.
The victory gets the Cougars to 6-3 in the conference and 8-7 overall heading into Wednesday’s road game at Porterville.
That one worries Cougar coach Kanoe Bandy.
“Porterville makes me nervous,” she said, “because they are very much like us.”
The Cougars defeated the Pirates in the first round of conference play, but Bandy expects a tougher match this time.
“They thought they should have beaten us last time. It’s going to be a tough one this time.”
Bandy thought her team was a little overconfident against Merced, a team that has won only one conference match.
“We warmed up sluggish. We warmed up with the arrogance that it was not going to take much to beat Merced. I struggled with that and it showed in the first game.”
Sarah Van Noy led the team both on offense and defense with 12 kills, 13 digs and four blocks.
Shannon Todd contributed 10 kills and six digs and led the Cougars at the service line with 19-of-21 for 12 points and three aces.
Brittney Evans scored six kills, had 10 defensive digs and went 17-of-18 for 12 points and an ace at the service line.
Michelle Myers had four kills and six digs, setter Darlene Medeiros tossed up 28 assists, and defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers was 15-of-15 serving with eight points and an ace.
The Cougars travel to Fresno Friday for another conference match and then to Stockton Saturday to play NorCal powerhouse San Joaquin Delta.
The Delta outing was originally scheduled as a four-way tournament, but Feather River and Reedley pulled out.
“Since we had planned to stay overnight I suggested to the Delta coach that we play a regular match,” Bandy said.
Most tournament matches are best two out of three and don’t count on a team’s record.
Cougars sweep Columbia
--posted 10/20/06 When several players got a little car sick Wednesday afternoon on the mountain road to picturesque Columbia College north of Sonora freshman outside hitter Shannon Todd had the right elixir.
She stepped to the service line in the first game and served 13 consecutive points. Nine of them were aces.
The Claimjumpers never recovered.
The result was a 30-9, 30-20, 30-21 Central Valley Conference sweep that improved the Cougars to 5-3 in the conference and 7-7 overall.
"When we got off the bus I thought we might be in trouble," said head coach Kanoe Bandy after the six-hour ride. "Several of our players had car sickness."
One of them was sophomore captain Sarah Van Noy.
"She didn’t look good at all, but she sucked it up and got the job done."
Van Noy led the team with her 16 kills and six blocks. She also had eight defensive digs.
But it was Todd’s hot serving hand that set the tone.
"We haven’t had a serving game like that in a long time," Bandy said. "That really jump started us."
For the match, Todd was 30-of-32 from the service line for 25 points and 10 aces.
Columbia shook off the first-game serving shock to make a tussle of it in the second game, but could never catch the Cougars.
After making quick work of the Claimjumpers in the first two games, the Cougars got sloppy.
Game three was deadlocked at 14 when Bandy called a timeout.
"I showed them that of Columbia’s 14 points, 13 of them came from our unforced errors. We had five service errors, five serve-receive errors, two hitting errors and a blocking error. I told them we should be ahead 14-1."
She also told them she had a headache, wasn’t feeling well and did not plan to hang around for another game.
The scolding worked.
"After that we didn’t make a single unforced error, " as the Cougars outscored the Claimjumpers 16-7.
Brittney Evans had six kills and nine defensive digs, Tellie Ducharm had six kills, and Michelle Myers five kills, two blocks and five digs.
Defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers had 16 digs to lead the team.
Setter Darlene Medeiros had 21 assists.
"We were all glad to have that one over with," Bandy said.
The Cougars will host Merced Friday, then hit the road for four conference matches sandwiched around the Oct. 28 San Joaquin Delta Classic in Stockton.
They won’t be on the home court again until Nov. 8 with College of the Sequoias visits.
Cougars sweep West Hills
--posted 10/16/06 Taft College overcame a sluggish start Friday but finished strong as the Cougars swept visiting West Hills College in a Central Valley Conference volleyball match that wrapped up the first half of league play.
TC improved to 4-3 in the conference (7-7 on the season) with the 30-20, 30-24, 30-13 sweep.
The Cougars launch second half action Wednesday by making the long trip to Sonora to take on Columbia College, then return home to host Merced College on Friday at 7 p.m.
The team will commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month Friday by accepting donations to the Susan B. Koman Foundation for breast cancer research.
Sophomore team captain Sarah Van Noy sparked the Cougars with 18 kills, 11 defensive digs and four blocks.
After the Cougars seemed to struggle a bit in the first two games, they came back strong in game three.
“I told them you are up by two so it’s time to practice for next week and finish strong,” head coach Kanoe Bandy said. “I thought they did just that.”
Van Noy got things rolling by slamming home four kills to get her team off to a 6-3 start.
The quick Falcons, who play defense as well as anyone in the conference, stayed with the Cougars for a short time.
It was 9-6 before the Cougars reeled off a 9-2 run that put them up by 10.
Bandy was impressed with West Hills’ serve-receive and passing game.
“They were more on target than the top teams in our conference,” she said.
But the Falcons are the shortest team in the conference with one player 5-foot-9 and the next tallest at 5-5.
TC swept Columbia and Merced in the first round.
Bandy is looking for improvement so the Cougars can make the race interesting for the three teams at the top of the heap—College of the Sequoias, Fresno and Reedley.
“We’ve got to pick off at least one of the top three to finish up stronger than we started,” Bandy said.
Brittney Evans contributed eight kills and 14 digs while Shannon Todd had seven kills to go along with 10 digs and a block, and Michelle Myers six kills, a team-high 18 digs and two blocks.
Setter Darlene Medeiros tossed up 38 assists and had nine digs.
West Hills stayed close in game one until the Cougars shook loose while leading 15-13. Taft went on a 10-3 run and finished going away.
Game two was tied eight times in the early going and stayed close most of the way.
Taft led by just two at 19-17 before Myers and Van Noy scored kills around a West Hills mistake for a five-point lead that gave the Cougars some breathing room.
Cougars split conference volleyball matches
--posted 10/9/06 Taft College split two Central Valley Conference volleyball matches Friday and Saturday, losing to College of the Sequoias in Visalia and winning at home against Modesto JC.
The loss to COS was Taft’s third in a row after the Cougars opened the conference with three victories.
But the 3-1 win over Modesto in the Cougar Sports Center got the team back on track.
The Cougars are 4-3 in the conference and 6-4 overall.
COS swept the Cougars although TC led in the first two games.
“COS just tipped us to death after we got the lead the first two games,” coach Kanoe Bandy said. “We led by seven in game one and in the second game we led all the way but couldn’t hold it at the end.”
TC was ahead 28-25, but the Giants scored the last five points when the Cougars “got that deer in the headlights look.”
That put COS up 2-0 and the Cougars wilted in the third game.
The Giants, who are undefeated in the conference, won by scores of 31-29, 30-28 and 30-19.
Sophomore middle Sarah Van Noy led the Cougars with 15 kills, 15 defensive digs and five blocks. Shannon Todd had seven kills and 11 digs.
“We are not closing the block very well which is not surprising because we are very inexperienced,” Bandy said.
On Saturday the Cougars bounced back to beat the Pirates 30-27, 30-24, 28-30 and 30-25.
Freshman outside hitter Todd paced the Cougars with 19 kills, 22 digs, four blocks and was 18-for-21 at the service line with five aces.
Brittney Evans had 18 kills and 17 defensive digs while Van Noy had 13 kills and five blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Michelle Myers was dead on at the service line with 24-0f-24 for 14 points and an ace. She also had four kills, 12 digs and four blocks.
Setter Darlene Medeiros tossed up 48 assists.
Freshman defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers played her first match as a libero and recorded 16 digs.
“She could be outstanding because of her quickness,” Bandy said. “And, she is a great leaper.”
The Cougars draw a bye on Wednesday and will host West Hills Friday at 7 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center.
Tigers sweep Cougars
--posted 10/5/06 It doesn’t happen very often.
In fact, no one could remember the last time it did.
The Taft College volleyball team was swept at home Wednesday by Reedley College.
The scores were 30-18, 30-19 and 30-21.
The loss is the second in a row in Central Valley Conference play for the Cougars after winning their first three.
Reedley moved into a tie for first in the CVC with a 4-1 record. The Tigers are 10-2 overall.
The match was a game of streaks, but the Tigers owned most of them. The Cougars rarely captured momentum to their side of the net.
The Tigers played much more consistently behind outside hitter Jennifer McNamara who is one of the best attackers in the state.
After Reedley shot out to a 4-0 lead in the first game, the Cougars surged back with a 10-3 run to take a 10-7 lead.
The Tigers ran off nine unanswered points in a 12-1 run that put them up by eight at 19-11.
They never looked back.
Game two was close in the early going.
TC had a 7-5 lead when the Tigers took off again with eight unanswered points. The Cougars never got closer than five points after that.
Game three was tied at 7 before McNamara had four kills to fuel a 5-1 Tiger run.
Taft continued to struggle defensively.
The Cougars had trouble with their serve-receive game, which prevented them from getting into any kind of rhythm.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Van Noy again led the team in attacks with 12 kills followed by Brittney Evans who had 10 and freshman Shannon Todd with seven.
Darlene Medeiros set the pace for the defense with 12 digs. Todd had eight, Van Noy six and Evans and Michelle Myers five each.
The Cougars struggled at the net too.
Van Noy had but two blocks, but that was high for the team.
Setter Medeiros tossed up 23 assists.
The Cougars travel to Visalia Friday to take on CVC co-leader College of the Sequoias, draw a bye next Wednesday and host West Hills on Friday, Oct. 13 to close out first-round conference play.
Fresno hands Cougars first conference loss
--posted 9/28/06 Fresno City College shook off a slow start in the first and fourth games of Wednesday’s Central Valley Conference volleyball match at Taft College.
The Cougars, meanwhile, could not shake off a slow start in the second game and slow finishes in the third and fourth.
The result was TC’s first conference loss by scores of 30-24, 11-30, 20-30 and 27-30.
Taft is now 3-1 in the CVC (5-2 overall) while the Rams are 3-2 (6-3 overall).
The Cougars’ serve-receive was weak the entire match, and that, coupled with errors, kept their backs to the wall.
TC surged out to a 10-1 lead in the opening game and led 22-9 when Fresno scrapped back.
The Rams claimed the momentum and outscored the Cougars 15-8 the rest of the way, then rode that surge to their own 10-1 lead to open the second game—one TC never was in.
Game three was nip and tuck with six lead changes and five ties before the Rams took command after it was last deadlocked at 16. Fresno out-pointed Taft 14-4 the rest of the way to take a 2-1 advantage.
TC came off the matt and appeared to have the fourth game in hand before wilting down the stretch with a rash of errors.
The Cougars was up by seven (24-17) before the Rams polished them off with a 13-3 spurt to close out the match.
Taft’s 6-foot-3 middle blocker, Sarah Van Noy, had an off night, getting only 10 kills to go with six blocks—four of them stuffs—and nine defensive digs.
Brittney Evans led the Cougars in attacks with 12 kills and had two stuff blocks. Michelle Myers had nine kills.
Freshman defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers impressed with her 16 digs and two kills.
Rayna Scudder had 16 digs, Darlene Medeiros and Evans 12, and Van Noy nine.
Medeiros tossed up 32 assists.
The Cougars will play in a weekend tournament in San Jose and return to CVC action next Wednesday by hosting Reedley College at 7 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center. Reedley beat Fresno last Friday.
Cougars stay on pace in CVC volleyball
--posted 9/21/06 Taft College was desperately looking for a little breathing room Wednesday night in a tight Central Valley Conference volleyball match against Porterville in the Cougar Sports Center.
TC had eked out 30-28 and 30-27 wins in the first two games. Both were nail-biters.
But after Porterville got the first point in the third game, the Cougars reeled off eight straight points behind a five-kill spree from sophomore middle blocker Sarah Van Noy.
That gave the Cougars the cushion they needed, and TC cruised to a 30-20 win to record their third consecutive conference sweep.
Van Noy finished with a match-high 21 kills, six blocks and 14 defensive digs.
In the first game the Cougars led most of the way, but the Pirates stayed within reach and went ahead 24-23.
It was tied at 25 before a Van Noy kill put the Cougars back into the lead.
But Porterville clawed back to take a 28-27 lead before the Cougars scored the final three points on two Pirate hitting errors and Brittney Evans’ kill.
Game two was a carbon copy with the Cougars staying just out of reach until Porterville deadlocked it at 23, again at 26 and once more at 27 before Evans drove home a kill from the right side to frustrate the Pirates again.
The Cougars were in control all the way in the third game, although the Pirates had a 5-0 run that got them within seven points at 25-18.
Michelle Myers had a solid all-around game with 10 kills, 16 digs and three blocks.
Evans had eight kills, 11 digs and a block, Rayna Scudder had 14 digs, Tellie Ducharm three blocks and three digs, and Maua Manuma had four blocks.
Setter Darlene Medeiros tossed up 40 assists.
The Cougars have a conference bye this Friday and will host Fresno City College next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center.
Cougars unbeaten in volleyball
--posted 9/18/06 Taft College remained undefeated in volleyball after sweeping Merced College on the road Friday.
The Cougars are 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Central Valley Conference following the 30-15, 30-20, 30-19 victory at Merced.
Over the weekend they split four best 2-of-3 matches in the San Joaquin Delta tournament in Stockton. Those do not count on a team’s record.
The weekend was bittersweet for head coach Kanoe Bandy who lost a third player to Valley Fever.
Freshman outside hitter Darlyn Levae, who is the hardest hitter on the team, was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Sunday night after experiencing breathing difficulties in her dorm room.
The initial diagnosis is Valley Fever although confirming tests have not been completed.
“The doctors said she has all the symptoms so we’re pretty sure it’s Valley Fever,” Bandy said.
On the eve of the season opener she lost two other players to the disease.
Construction at the Children’s Center adjacent to the residence halls may be the culprit, Bandy said.
“It’s quite frustrating, but there is not a damn thing you can do about it. It’s happened before.”
Over the years, Valley Fever has stricken quite a number of student athletes. One year, when some excavation work was going on adjacent to the dorms 14 Cougar football players were stricken.
Freshman setter Krysten Adsuara and freshman outside hitter Shannon Todd—both of them projected starters—are both currently undergoing treatment.
How long the three will be out of action is not known. Symptoms can vary from mild to severe.
Sophomore middle Sarah Van Noy led the Cougars against Merced with 13 kills, 10 defensive digs and a block.
Livae had 12 kills and nine defensive digs and Brittany Evans contributed eight kills and 11 digs.
In the weekend tournament, the Cougars defeated Hartnell (25-13, 25-11) and Lassen (25-23, 25-21) before losing to No. 1 seed Sacramento City College, 16-25, 16-25.
That loss, Bandy believes, sent her freshman-dominated team into a funk they couldn’t overcome. The result was a two-game loss to West Valley, both by 18-25 scores.
“The players admitted they were intimidated going into the West Valley match,” Bandy said. “The thing they didn’t fully realize is that they lost to the No. 1 seed.”
Van Noy had 21 kills, 24 digs and six blocks for the tournament.
Evans had 18 kills, 19 digs and four blocks, Livae contributed 21 kills and 19 digs, Michelle Myers had 16 kills, 22 digs and five blocks, and Tellie Ducharm nine kills and four blocks.
Darlene Medeiros had 18 digs and Rayna Scudder 17.
The Cougars host Porterville College tonight (Wednesday) in the Cougar Sports Center, travel to Modesto Friday and host Fresno next Wednesday. All matches start at 7 p.m.
Van Noy fuels Cougar volleyball win
--posted 9/14/06 During her pre-game pep talk Wednesday night, Taft College volleyball coach Kanoe Bandy told starting middle blocker Sarah Van Noy that she was going to sub for her when the 6-foot-3 sophomore rotated to the back row where defense is crucial.
Van Noy didn’t like the idea at all and told her coach so.
Bandy relented and let Van Noy stay on the floor the entire match when the Cougars entertained Columbia College in the home opener.
Van Noy responded by leading the team in defensive digs with 21 to go along with her team-high 15 kills and six blocks.
“Sarah had to be our go-to player,” Bandy said. “In game two she passed the ball on the money. That brought back some confidence for us.”
With Van Noy leading the way both offensively and defensively the Cougars shook off a rocky start to defeat Columbia, 30-28, 30-18, 30-23.
The sweep gives the Cougars a 2-1 record and more importantly a victory to open their defense of the Central Valley Conference championships they have won the past two years.
The evening didn’t start well, though.
Columbia got off to a 7-1 run before freshman setter Darlene Medieros righted the ship by serving nine consecutive points to give the Cougars the lead.
Medieros, who tossed up 39 assists, was a major force at the serving line where she was 23 of 25 for 18 points with seven aces.
Columbia regained the advantage after it was tied at 15, maintaining a lead until the Cougars got into a rhythm and closed strong.
The Claimjumpers were up by five (26-21) and looking to close out the first game with a win when the Cougars went on a 9-2 run to stun Columbia’s hopes.
Van Noy had a tip and a kill to get the Cougars even at 27
Reyna Scudder scored just inside the end line to put TC ahead, Van Noy drove home a kill and freshman outside hitter Darlyn Livae scored the clincher.
Van Noy sparked a 5-0 run to start the second game, scoring four of the points on three kills and a stuff block.
But the Claimjumpers used a strong effort at the net to go on an 8-0 run and take the lead.
“Columbia did a good job blocking us,” Bandy said.
The game was tied six times, the last time at 15.
That’s when the Cougars, with Van Noy digging everything that came her way, took control with a 7-0 run.
The Cougars led all the way in the third game.
Freshman outside hitter Michelle Myers had 12 kills, Livae eight, Tellie Ducharm five and Brittney Evans four.
Myers also played well on defense, finishing with 19 digs.
Livae had three blocks, Ducharm two and Medeiros two.
Bandy hopes the win gives her young team some confidence to start playing more aggressively.
“You can tell we are a freshman team,” she said. “We were very timid, especially at first. We had too many tips in game one and we put up some marshmallow serves. But as long as we continue to get better I’m satisfied.”
The Cougars will host Porterville College next Wednesday at 7 in the Cougar Sports Center.
Cougars set for volleyball home opener
--posted 9/11/06 Taft College will begin defense of its Central Valley Conference volleyball crown Wednesday night when the Cougars host Columbia College at 5 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center.
TC tuned up for the home opener last Saturday by splitting matches in the American River Invitational in Sacramento.
The Cougars dropped the first match to Shasta College by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 before rebounding to beat host American River 30-25, 30-23, 27-30, 30-19.
Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Van Noy led the Cougars in the first match with 11 kills and seven blocks.
A pair of 5-foot-11 inch freshman outside hitters also had solid efforts.
Darlyn Livae had nine kills and Michelle Myers seven.
Freshman setter Darlene Medeiros tossed up 27 assists.
Van Noy also led the team against American River with 18 kills and six blocks, Livae had 16 kills and Myers 11 to go along with four blocks.
Medeiros had 42 assists in the four-game victory.
Van Noy is the Cougars’ only returning starter.
Coach Kanoe Bandy is facing her biggest challenge in many years with a team that is so short on experience.
It’s a big change from last year when she had six all-conference picks including All-American Kaena Apana.
Of those all-conference selections, only Van Noy returns.
Young TC volleyball team opens season Saturday
--posted 9/5/06 A young and very inexperienced Taft College volleyball team will open the season Saturday in the American River Classic in Sacramento.
TC was scheduled to open the season Wednesday at Allan Hancock College, but the Santa Maria school was forced to cancel its season when only six players tried out for the team.
Coach Kanoe Bandy saw the cancellation as a mixed blessing.
“Losing that match might work out OK for us,” she said. “We really need time for preparation. This is the most inexperienced team I’ve had in my 19 years of coaching.”
The Cougars could use the time for practice, but Bandy also knows the value of playing against another team.
“Competition is what makes you better and gives you an idea of the things you need to work on.”
She nonetheless has a good notion what the team needs to work on.
“We are so inexperienced that we are just working on basic skills,” she said. “We are having to spend a lot of time on basic but critical things like serving and passing the ball. By now we should be working on our offense and defense.”
Despite the inexperience, she said the team keeps getting better.
“As long as we continue to improve, we are doing our job. We may have to find different goals for a while and just enjoy the progress we are making.
Six-foot-three all-conference middle blocker Sarah Van Noy is the only returning starter.
The others with some experience are 5-4 defensive specialist Rayna Scudder, 5-7 outside hitter Brittany Evans, and 5-9 outside hitter and middle Maua Manuma.
Setter Sachi Mamizuka, who played every game last year and made all-conference, did not return to school for personal reasons.
Bandy also is losing promising freshman setter Krysten Adsuara from Hawaii for at least a month while she undergoes treatment for Valley Fever.
Another freshman—Darlene Medeiros—has stepped in, Bandy said.
Other freshmen that Bandy and assistant Lisa Borrecco will be working with are 5-3 _ defensive specialist Vernadine Vickers, 5-11 _ outside hitter and middle Michelle Myers, 5-11 middle blocker Tellie Ducharm, 5-8 outside hitter Elizabeth Davis, 5-9 _ outside hitter Shannon Todd, and 5-11 _ outside hitter and middle Darlyn Livae.
The Cougars will open Central Valley Conference action Sept. 13 when they host Columbia College in a 5 p.m. match in the Cougar Sports Center.