Mammoth volleyball victory

Mammoth Girls Volleyball got the season kicked off in style on Tuesday, Sept. 10, breezing through their initial three game match against Lone Pine. The Huskies are a much bigger team in size and numbers than Lone Pine, giving them a clear advantage. They easily won all three games of the match 25-12, 25-13 and 25-10 behind the leadership of captains #13 Cassidy Morris, #8 Hailey Sanders and #6 Kyra McKee.

The win was an excellent team effort by #1 Jade Woo, #15 Tatum Sandvigen, #2 Kira Shultz, #7 Taylor Sanders, #0 Amanda Kirkeby, #10 Kylie LaFamboise and #12 Kelly Berger, #4 Mackenzie Morley, #3 Sierra Gilroy, #5 Emile Hodges, #9 Sabrina Clevenger, #11 Emma Peckenpaugh, and #14 Callie Mowatt. The girls gave the Husky fans a good feeling to start the year.

The JV Volleyball team took 2 of 3 games 15-25, 25-17 and 15-8 from Lee Vining in their initial game of the season.

Volleyball is huge in Mammoth. There are 50 girls out for volleyball at the middle school level alone and that feeds the JV and Varsity with experienced players with solid skills.

According to Head Coach John Morris, “The Mammoth Huskies girls volleyball team started their 2013 season at home in fine fashion.

“The Mammoth JV took on Lee Vining’s varsity team and came back from a first game loss to win the match 19-25, 25-19, 15-9. Strong performances were turned in by captains Leslie Galvan, Lex Brode and Carly Margulies.”

The next test for the Huskies comes this weekend at the Mammoth Invitational Tournament, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14 at Mammoth High School.

This year’s field includes Mammoth, Bishop, Yosemite, Whittier, Kern Valley, Cal City, Rosamond and Rancho Christian. Pool play matches run from 3 – 9 p.m. on Friday with a double elimination tournament starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Admission is $5 per day for adults with free admission to kids 17 and under and Mammoth Boosters members.

“The volleyball program as a whole looks solid and we hope to have a great deal of success this season,” Morris said. “This weekend’s tournament will be fun for all the players and a real test of how we stack up against the competition.”

Photo: Pellegrini