Regional high school roundup
Matt Smith, Bay Area News Group - 10/29/2009

Regional roundup

Girls volleyball

Amador Valley d. Carondelet 25-14, 25-13, 25-19: In theory, Thursday night's East Bay Athletic League match should have been the biggest test for league-leading Amador Valley.

But in reality, the Dons are simply outclassing the rest of the league.

Amador Valley stayed perfect in the EBAL, topping a streaking Carondelet team in three games. The Cougars (18-10, 8-4 EBAL) had won six consecutive matches, but the Dons (24-7, 12-0) served too well.

"We definitely served tough," Amador Valley coach Rich Cortez said. "We're a very good serving team. We have good servers in all six of our rotations, and we were able to keep them off balance."

The Dons used 14 aces to secure the win and have won 36 of 38 games in EBAL play. The last time Amador Valley lost a game was during a 3-1 win at Carondelet on Oct. 6, also the last time the Cougars lost a match.

"We just had a breakdown in the serve/receive game," Carondelet coach Jerry Mix said. "We didn't communicate as well as we had been the last couple of weeks."

The Dons, led by 10 kills from Jessica Atkins, clinched no worse than a tie for the league crown. They can win it outright with a win in one of their next two matches. Carondelet is in line to finish third in league.

— Matt Smith, correspondent