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When the Foothill girls’ volleyball team uncharacteristically lost the first two games of the non-league season, there was no need to panic.
And the patience paid off the second week of the season, as the Falcons ran off a series of wins and advanced to the finals of the very strong East County Tournament on Sept. 7.
In the championship match, Foothill fell to Marin Catholic 22-25, 25-16, 13-15.
To advance to the finals, Foothill beat Campolindo (2-0), Tamalpais (2-1), Carondelet (2-1) and Rocklin (2-0).
Kaycie Burdick, Paige Nelson, Kait Vogel, Brooke Stedman, Lulu Hoenninger, Sophia Burdick and freshman libero Olivia So all played well.
Earlier in the week, the Falcons beat Campolindo 25-11, 25-20, 25-14 in a non-league match. Kaycie Burdick (18 kills, 7 digs), Nelson (17 assists, 7 kills, 7 digs, 6 aces) and Vogel (10 digs, 7 kills) led the way.
Two days later they started East Bay Athletic League play with a 25-13, 25-19, 25-14 win over Dougherty Valley. Highlights came from Stedman (15 assists, 2 blocks), Hoenninger (3 kills, 2 blocks) and Sophia Burdick (3 kills, 1 block).
Amador girls’ water polo
The Dons opened the EBAL season with a 12-3 win over Livermore, paced by seven goals from Susan Swyers.
Regan Braga added three goals, with Abigail Jones and Katie Hopkins scoring one each to round out the scoring for Amador Valley.
Braga had three assists, with Swyers adding two. Amador goalie Deepika Suresh had fives in getting the win in the goal.
Amador boys’ water polo
The Dons got a 21-5 win over Livermore to open EBAL play, paced by seven goals from Bryce O’Nesky in limited time.
Landon Kelley added five goals, and Anthony Sowul three to round out the multi-goal scorers. Jac Jorgenson, TJ Chandler, Jake DeMichiel, Eli Morris, and Will Campbell all added solo goals for Amador.
Jason Grell had seven saves and Colin Jennings had five saves for the Dons.
Playbook is now running!
Tri-Valley Preps Playbook — the popular look at all EBAL action — published its second issue for the 2024-25 prep season earlier this week.
The Playbook is free but must be subscribed to for a delivery to your inbox each Tuesday afternoon!
The Big Picture this week takes an inside look at the emotional home opener for the Livermore varsity football team, where the Cowboys paid tribute to assistant coach Scott Baswell who passed away in his sleep July 31. (A story also featured below in this week’s paper.)
The Power Rankings are back with week two for football and the debut of the girls’ volleyball rankings.
The What to Watch segment brings some of the best games to watch this coming week as the EBAL girls’ volleyball action kicks into high gear. There are also some big non-league football games. Find out who, where, and when are the games.
This week we visited with Foothill flag football athlete Brea Olsen for Fast Five. Her “must follow” on social media is certainly one of the most popular professional athletes in the Bay Area!
The Playbook is, hands down, the best way to stay current with the EBAL athletic season, and once again, it is free. All you need to do is subscribe and you are set to have a front row seat for EBAL action.
To subscribe to the Playbook, please go to pleasantonweekly.com/sports, then scroll down to the box to subscribe to the Tri-Valley Preps Playbook!
All you must do is enter your email address and you are good to go for the entire season, getting a new one emailed to you every Tuesday afternoon.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
