Live Oak volleyball cruises past Willow Glen, 3-0

Live Oak improved to 3-0 with a sweep of Willow Glen Thursday night.
The Acorns hardly trailed during the three sets, easily winning 25-14, 25-17 and 25-14.
“I’m proud of the girls. They did an awesome job,” said coach James Uthes. “… The girls did a good job. I don’t know what to work on. They’re not making any mistakes for me to correct them.”
In the first set, Live Oak trailed 10-8 after three consecutive hitting errors erased a one-point lead. But behind the serving of Madison Hartman and Alexis Budde, the Acorns went on a 15-1 scoring run to put the game out of reach at 23-11.
The second set saw the Acorns take control early on, riding a 9-2 scoring run to take a quick 13-7 advantage.
With the solid play of Renee Rhoads, who finished with five kills and five aces, Live Oak held its lead, despite a couple of mini runs by Willow Glen.
The Rams pulled to within three, but got no closer.
The Acorns followed the arm of Rhoads to a 7-2 scoring run that put them up by eight. After Willow Glen pulled to within five, Live Oak put the game away with a 5-2 scoring run with a scoring block by Hartman and a kill by Budde.
In the final set, Live Oak went on a 13-2 scoring run to start the contest and never looked back.
That final set allowed coach Uthes to clear his bench.
“I can see who’s stepping up and who’s going to be starting,” Uthes said. “I have a pretty good idea of who’s going to be starting, but those who aren’t can step up and show me (something).”
Maddie Della Maggiore had a block, Tiffany Ziegelman had an ace, starter Courtney Borja had a kill, but the third set belonged to Rhoads.
She had two blocks to open the set, had three consecutive aces to put Live Oak up by 10 and had a kill to pull the Acorns to within two of clinching the match.
Leading the charge throughout the contest was Budde who tallied seven kills with three aces.
The Acorns now travel to Watsonville for a tournament beginning Saturday. They will next return home Sept. 24 to open Blossom Valley Athletic League play against Sobrato.