Live Oak breezed by Andrew Hill Thursday in a three-set sweep that allowed the Acorns to play everyone on the bench leading up to the Blossom Valley Athletic League opener Tuesday.
The Acorns improved to 6-3 overall, with all three losses coming in last weekend’s Watsonville Tournament.
Live Oak is 4-0 in regular matches.
Coach James Uthes mixed-and-matched his girls against Andrew Hill, especially in the third game. He said it allowed him to know where players could go in the event his starters were to go down.
Based on his experience last year with his setter Alexis Budde missing a few matches mid season, Uthes tried out Courtney Borja at setter and said he’s confident she could fill the role if the need arises.
“She did great,” Uthes said. “She’s still not used to the spot. We just have to remind her where to play defensively.”
He added even though there were a few position issues, he would be confident putting Borja in as setter in an emergency.
Offensively, Uthes said everyone contributed something to the effort. He said the servers were at the line for at least three points each time.
He also got balanced attacks from Julieanna Blotz, Shayla Tomasello, Daytona Hernandez and Borja who all had five kills.
Hernandez stepped in for an injured Renee Rhoads, who Uthes kept out to allow her to get ready for BVAL.
Watsonville Tournament
Live Oak went 2-2 last weekend in the Watsonville Tournament, where Uthes was still mixing up his line up to figure out what he had available.
The Acorns opened against Watsonville, losing 2-1 — 25-17, 22-25, 11-15. Live Oak in the third set went up 11-7, but gave up eight-consecutive points in the loss. Borja led hitters with 10 kills.
They then took on Alisal winning 2-1 — 25-15, 15-25, 15-6.
Rhoads led with eight kills and two blocks. Budde had five aces in the win.
Live Oak followed that with a 2-1 win over Santa Cruz, taking the second and third sets 25-13, 15-7 after falling 20-25 to open the match.
Borja led with seven kills.
In the final matches, the Acorns fell in straight sets to Leland and Madera South. Live Oak fell 15-25, 23-25 to Leland and 17-25, 19-25 to Madera South.
Live Oak will host Sobrato Tuesday to open BVAL play. The match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. following the junior varsity match.
