Super week for Napa Valley College volleyball
Photos: The Napa Valley College volleyball team played at home, facing Mendocino College-Ukiah, in a Bay Valley Conference match on Friday, Oct. 10.
Photos by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
It was a super week for Napa Valley College volleyball.
The Storm not only won their first match of the 2025 fall season, but backed up that performance with a second straight victory.
Continuing Bay Valley Conference play, Napa Valley started out the week on Wednesday, Oct. 8, beating host Los Medanos College-Pittsburg, 3-2. The scores were 17-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-27, 15-13.
Napa Valley ended the week by winning at home, 3-1 over Mendocino College-Ukiah on Friday, Oct. 10. The scores were 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22.
"It's all about holding on to the momentum, working hard to try to achieve it, and then once you get it, just being able to kind of build off of that," Storm head coach Scott Bishop said. "I was really impressed this week with them being able to do exactly that. Hopefully, we can keep pulling that momentum and just keep building."
Napa Valley (2-10 overall, 2-2 Bay Valley Conference) has turned its season around, going from a team looking for its first win to now tied for third place in the conference standings.
"It definitely gives them a little more confidence," said Bishop. "I think we've been making a lot of incremental progress over the course of our season, but it wasn't resulting necessarily in us being able to beat other teams and sets. So, definitely a confidence booster.
"I just felt like the confidence on the floor was very similar in both of those matches.
"I think they're just enjoying the experience that has been able to come from all the hard work. It's starting to pay off in matches, which is great."
The week started out in a big way, with Napa Valley ending a losing streak, by going five sets in a win over Los Medanos.
"It was just close the whole evening," said Bishop. "I kind of feel like we hit a turning point in terms of our consistency, being able to string together plays and kind of just play to the level that we're more accustomed to. Both teams were playing really well and super motivated.
"It was nice to see a lot of those traits in (Friday's) match as well."
It was a team-wide effort for Napa Valley in its match against Mendocino.
The Storm was ahead 2-0 after two sets.
Bishop was very impressed with his team's mental toughness, overcoming some struggles and being able to bounce back
"We felt like we had control of the evening, and then Mendocino fought real hard," said Bishop. "That third set could have gone either way. We had opportunities to win, and we let them slip through our hands, and Mendocino beat us. We kind of had to ride that out and then regroup ourselves and fight for it and then to kind of take the match. So, good lesson there."
It was second home match of the season for Napa Valley, which played all of its nonconference matches on the road.
Napa Valley got standout play in the first set from:
* Ava Pendelton (outside hitter/defensive specialist): three kills, two service aces.
* Aly Watty (setter): two kills.
* Rylee Santos (setter): kill.
* Willow Diamond (middle blocker/right-side hitter): service ace, kill.
* Keana Resultay (defensive specialist/outside hitter): two kills.
* Caitlin Kenney (middle blocker/right-side hitter): kill.
Napa Valley was ahead in the first set, 10-7, 12-8, 14-9, 15-11, 16-13, 20-14, 22-15, 24-17.
Napa Valley was led in the second set by:
* Watty: three kills, service ace.
* Kenney: two kills.
* Resultay: two kills.
* Diamond: two kills.
* Santos: service ace.
* Pendelton: two kills.
Napa Valley was ahead in the set, 4-2 and 6-5, and came from behind at 10-7, 11-9 and 14-13. A 5-0 run gave the Storm an 18-14 lead. A 4-0 run gave the Storm a 22-15 lead.
Napa Valley was led in the third set by:
* Diamond: kill, service ace.
* Pendelton: three kills.
* Watty: two kills.
* Kenney: kill.
The Storm was ahead in the set, 7-3, 8-5, 9-6, 10-7, 11-9, 13-10, 14-11, 15-12, 16-14, 17-16. Mendocino went ahead 19-17, 23-19, 24-20. A 3-0 run by the Stom closed the gap to 24-23.
Napa Valley was led in the fourth set by:
* Watty: kill.
* Kenney: three kills.
* Diamond: kill, block.
* Pendelton: two kills.
* Resultay: service ace.
"We definitely had a lot of players contributing (Friday)," said Bishop. "Willow had multiple great serving runs back there, which is something she's been really working hard to do. And both Caitlin and Willow have really been doing really well out of the middle.
"We're getting good plays from everyone. Everyone on the roster is working hard and proud of them."
NVC players had pink shirts on, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, during their warmups. They also wore pink arm sleeves.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, according to www.nationalbreastcancer.org, "is a global campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer, increase screenings, and provide critical support for patients and survivors. Since 1989, increased awareness through campaigns like BCAM has helped reduce breast cancer deaths in the United States by 44 percent."
October, according to www.nationalbreastcancer.org, "was chosen to honor the efforts of early advocates and coincide with global research events."
Napa Valley's next match is at home on Wednesday, Oct. 15 against Yuba College-Marysville at 6 p.m.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.