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2002 Season

Madera Invitational

08/30/02
The Bullard High School Knights Volleyball team opened their season at the Madera Invitational Tournament.

Madera Invitational Day 1

Andrea with the serve	Megan R with a quick kill	Taylor ready to pass

The team got off to a fast start as they jumped out to an early 5-1 lead against the Tulare Union Redskins.  Then, with the score 11-5, Alex Cogdill served up six straight points to give the team a commanding 17-5 lead.  The Redskins would never recover as the team went on to a 21-8 win.  The team stayed hot in the next game as they jumped out to an early 10-5 lead.  But, this time, the Redskins would battle back to cut the lead to 11-9.  Then, with the score 12-9, Taylor Jerri served up four straight points to help the team increase their lead to 16-9.  The team never looked back as they went on to win by a final score of 21-11.

Next up, was the Washington Union Panthers. The game stared off close as the team battled it out to take an early 6-5 lead. Then, with the score 7-5, Sarah Vargas served up seven straight points to help the team increase their lead to 14-5.  Nikki Ciapponi then took over, a double block (with Megan Rohel) and three straight kills to help the team to a 21-8 win.  The next game start out close, just like the first game.  Then, with the score 8-6, Emily Barr (three points) and Andrea Tom (three points) teamed up to serve up six straight points to help the team increase their lead to 14-6.  Dawn Davies then got into the act serving up five straight points to give the team a commanding 20-7 lead. The team would then force a side out to win by a final score of 21-8.

The team finished the first day of pool play with a 2-0 record.

Madera Invitational Day 2

Nikki with the kill	Julie with the set	Dawn with the kill

The team was up bright and early on Saturday morning for the second day of tournament play. First up was the host school the Madera Coyotes. The team must have still been asleep as the Coyotes jumped out to an early 2-5 lead. The team fought back to cut the lead to 8-9. But, the Coyotes came back to score two straight points to increase their lead to 8-11.  The team played hard but, fell by a final score of 17-21.  The next game started out just like the first as the Coyotes jumped out to an early 3-5 lead.  But, this time the team battled back.  With the score 3-6, the team scored the next four straight points (a Coyote error, a kill by Nikki Ciapponi and two service aces by Avreeta Singh) to take a 7-6 lead.  The teams would then, battle it out.  But, with the score 17-19, the Coyotes would score the last two points to win by a final score of 17-21. 

The last match in pool play was against the Sunnyside Wildcats.  The team didn't start off well as the Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-6 lead. Then, with the score 6-8, Dawn Davies served up three straight points to give the team a 9-8 lead.  A double block by Megan Rohel and Nikki Ciapponi to make the score 12-11, seemed to wake the team up as they went on a 9-1 run to win by a final score of 21-12.  The next game started out close as the teams battled it out to a 8-8 tie.  Alex Cogdill then, served up five straight points to help the team take a 14-8 lead.  The Wildcats never recovered as the team went on for a 21-16 win. 

The team finished pool play with a 3-1 record and a second place finish. The following are the final pool standings:

With the second place pool finish, the team will move on Championship Playoff Bracket play.

First up in bracket play was the Edison Tigers. The team started off well as they jumped out to an early 7-3 lead.  But, the Tigers would fight back to score the next five straight points to take a 7-8 lead.  The team did not panic and battled back.  With the score 9-10, two services aces by Dawn Davies, two straight kills by Nikki Ciapponi would give the team a 13-10 lead.  The Tigers would score another two points to make the score 13-12 but, that was as close as it would get as the team went on for a 15-12 win.  The team continued to stay hot in the next game as they jumped out to an early 4-2 lead.  But, with the score 4-3, the Tigers exploded for five straight points to take a 4-8 lead.  The team would fight back to tie the score at 10-10 and then take a 12-11 lead.  Then, with the score 13-12, a block by Sarah Vargas and a service ace by Julie Geissert would give the team a 15-12 win.  With the win against the Tigers, the team would move on to the tournament finals. 

Who else would the team meet in the tournament finals but, the Madera Coyotes.  The first game started out in a close battle.  But, with the score 6-5, the Coyotes scored four straight points to take a 6-9 lead.  The team would fight back to cut the lead to 8-10 and then to 9-11.  Then, with the score 10-13, Julie Geissert would serve up four straight points to help the team take a 14-13 lead.  The Coyotes would battle back to force a side out and tie the score at 14-14.  But, a kill by Julie Geissert and a kill by Sarah Vargas would give the team a 16-14 win.  The second game was another battle.  But with the score tied at 11-11, the Coyotes would go on a 1-4 run to pull out a 12-15 win and force a third and deciding game.  The team started off hot in the third game as they jumped out to a 5-2 lead and then a 10-5 lead.  Then, with the score 10-6, the team would force a side out to win by a final score of 11-6 and capture the Madera Invitational Tournament title.

The team finished the tournament in 1st place with an overall record of 5-1. The following are the final Championship Bracket standings:

Alex Cogdill led the way with a serving percentage of .96 (27 for 28) followed by Taylor Jerri also, with a serving percentage of .96 (23 for 24).  Julie Geissert led the team with 26 service points followed by  Nikki Ciapponi with 24 service points.  Nikki Ciapponi led the team with 32 kills followed by Dawn Davies with 19 kills. Alex Cogdill led the team with 17 digs followed by Arveeta Singh with 16 digs. 

Great job team!