Bakersfield schools face Clovis schools in volleyball playoffs
| Tuesday, Nov 18 2008 01:31 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 02:07 PM
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Liberty's Mariah Alvidrez receives a serve for the Patriots against Centennial early this season.
Bakersfield and Clovis collide tonight -- twice -- in Central Section high school volleyball semifinals.
Down here, second-seeded Liberty takes on three-time defending champion Clovis-Buchanan in a Division I semifinal.
Up there, in the other D-I semifinal, No. 5 seed Bakersfield, fresh off a surprising sweep of No. 4 Centennial, travels to top seed Clovis West.
All games start at 7 p.m.
"There's no disparity," said Bakersfield coach Tom Clarke, who added the semifinals also are Southeast Yosemite League vs. Tri-River Athletic Conference battles. "Any one of those four teams can win."
The four remaining teams have been intertwined all season: Liberty beat Buchanan in a five-set match early in its season opener, then split two SEYL matches with BHS to finish 11-1.
Liberty is led by Mariah Alvidrez with 3.6 kills and 4.9 digs a game. Setter Emily Cote averages 9.7 assists a game.
Liberty coach Lean Slayton wasn't available for comment.
Clovis West, meanwhile, lost a non-league match to Buchanan, but turned around and beat the Bears twice in TRAC play.
Bakersfield might have improved more than any other. The young Drillers were slumping along at 10-7 after an early league loss to Garces, but they rebounded to finish 10-2 in the league and beat Liberty in the season finale. BHS, led by Lauren Holderman's 3.6 kills and 4.3 digs a game, has lost twice to Buchanan and hasn't played Clovis West.
The Drillers have, however, won seven straight matches and are in their fifth straight section semifinals.
"I always tell my kids," Clarke said, "'We don't need to be good in August or September. We need to be great in November.' And I really feel like this team's in synch this year."
Meanwhile, two other Bakersfield schools will attempt to live up to their top seed tonight. Garces, the No. 1 team in Division II, and Bakersfield Christian, No. 1 in Division IV, host Oakhurst-Yosemite and Chowchilla, respectively, at 7 tonight.
In Division III, No. 3 Tehachapi travels to No. 2 Ridgeview.
