Aari Hashimi splits the FRC defense for one of her eight kills
Posted: Dec 03, 2019
The West Valley volleyball team's NorCal final match at frozen Feather River was analogous to a charter bus nearing the top of an icy mountain road only to slide back down into an embankment.
The 8th-seeded Vikings' 30-28, 25-19, 25-10 loss to the #1-seeded Golden Eagles capped a wild weekend adventure to snowy Quincy. What should have been a five-hour bus ride Friday turned into a 13-hour trip featuring road closures on both highways 80 and 49 that forced the charter to return to the Sacramento area for lodging.
Finally arriving Saturday afternoon, West Valley hit the court for a spirited opening set that saw them at set point at 24-20. The Golden Eagles (32-2) tied it up at 24-24, but a service error gave the side out to WVC at 25-24 with Hannah Reynoso serving for the set. Back-to-back attack errors gave FRC the lead at 26-25 before a Rene Wash dink knotted it at 26-26. The teams traded side outs until a block and a kill by FRC's Aurora Carnes gave the Eagles the 30-28 set win.
Set two was tied at 11-11, but Feather River staged a six-point run for a 17-11 lead and were never threatened again. Set three was all Golden Eagles, as they led from the opening serve to advance to the CCCAA State Championship tournament next weekend in San Diego as the #1 north seed.
Hannah Moore paced the Viking stat sheet with 13 kills and five digs, while Aaryan Hashimi finished with eight kills. Renee Martin had three kills and a pair of service aces, and Della Trimble handed out 33 assists.
West Valley ended the year with a 20-9 record - their highest win total under coach Armen Zakarian - and a Coast Conference title.
