Volleyball pulls out win against Redwoods, drops 3

Lassen College Volleyball closed out their home schedule with a win against Redwoods. The Lady Cougars also hit the road and battled against Feather River, Shasta and Siskiyous but were unable to capture the Ws.

October 28

The Lassen Volleyball faced off against Feather River College at home, losing 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 25-9, and 25-19. Offensively, Josie Booth and Olivia Nord lead the Cougars with seven and eight kills. Taysha Ortega paced the squad with 19 assists. The team improved against the Golden Eagles by nine points across the board and forced the opposing coach into the first time out against the Cougars throughout the six set series.

"Feather River is a good team with a strong sophomore presence," said Head Coach Amy Morris. "We played them very tough at home and I felt good about what we had done compared to the last time we played them. We also were able to get Josie back into a groove in this match and had her finish hitting .294 against a very good team. I was very proud at how we competed at home."

November 2

Lassen Volleyball played Shasta College at home dropping the contest in five sets with scores of (20-25, 25-22, 14-25, 25-18, 11-15). This match marked the third time out of four matches that the Cougars dropped a conference match in five sets. Olivia Nord had a double-double dropping 20 kills and 24 digs to carry the team. Josie Booth added 13 kills and Taysha Ortega also had a double-double with 33 assists and 20 digs.

"It was really hard to lose another one in five sets, knowing how close we were to winning those conference matches," said Morris. "It's always good to see the progress the group has made, after previously having lost to Shasta in three. We have shown great growth from match to match. It would have been nice for morale to come up with one or two of those five set losses. We put up big numbers and had the largest cheering section of the season. It motivated us but we still fell short. We will regroup and finish our home stretch with Redwoods on Friday."

November 4

Lassen hosted Redwoods in their home match of the season. The Cougars faced College of the Redwoods defeating the Corsairs in three straight sets 25-13, 25-15, 25-18.  Truly a team effort, this match saw all members of the volleyball team see action. A highlight match for local native Taylore Somerville who turned in her best match of the year with 11 kills and hitting .500. Molly Zimmerman also had her best effort of the year with three assists and had significant action throughout the day. Hannah McLauchlin added three aces, while serving 15 times and scooped up 13 digs.

"This was a great way to close out our home stretch. It was nice to feel in control the entire match, get everyone play time and get the win." Morris said.

November 11

Lassen suffered a heartbreaking five match loss to College of the Siskiyous in Weed. Lassen dropped the contest in four sets (16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 21-25).  Olivia Nord added another double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs.  Hannah McLauchlin paced the defense with 27 digs. Taysha Ortega notched 30 assists.  After dropping the first set, the team came out strong leading the entire way in set two, closing it out with a tight 25-23 win. In sets three and four, the team struggled to maintain a balanced game and dropped both sets trailing the entire time.

"We really struggled in this match." said Morris. "We knew coming in that the Siskiyous student section was tough and  it get into our head in the first set. We recovered well in set two, but never really got going in this match."