“I feel nothing but pride in this program right now. These girls never gave up"

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Although the Gridley High School varsity volleyball team had a shortened season, like most sports have had this school year, that didn’t stop the Lady Bulldogs from bringing everything they had to the court every match they played. Even when facing adversity, head coach Elizabeth Ayon and senior captains rallied the team back from deficits to finish strong against their opponents. The Lady Bulldogs defeated all five opponents, only dropping three sets out of eighteen. 

On Saturday, May 8, 2021, the Lady Bulldogs finished their season with a commanding victory over the Las Plumas High School Lady Thunderbirds, three sets to zero. Senior captain, Ally Mardesich, led the team with 22 assists and 5 digs in the match. Senior captain, Kennedy Tull, led the team with 11 digs in the match. Senior captain, Isabelle Hernandez, had 5 kills and 8 digs in the match. And junior, Aubrey Ponciano, had 11 kills in the match. 

Over the five game stretch, Mardesich led the team with 95 assists on the season. Tull and Hernandez led the team on defense with 53 digs to 49 digs, respectively. Sophomore, Kennison Cota, led the team with 41 kills and 15 blocks in the season. And junior, Haven Counihan, led the team with 17 aces. 

Coach Ayon had nothing but positive praise to say about her team after a successful shortened season. “I feel nothing but pride in this program right now. These girls never gave up. We’ve been waiting for a season since May 2020 and they just kept showing up to the gym hoping for a season. We have some key players and leaders who were willing to do whatever it took for the success of the team and every player was committed to showing up and doing the best they could.”

The Lady Bulldogs say goodbye to the following seniors: Ally Mardesich, Ciah Moran, Elesia Fuentes, Isabelle Hernandez, Kennedy Tull, Lupita Soria, and Maribel Garcia.