Eagles Sink Vikings

2010-11 Turlock Christian Varsity @ Lake Tahoe Tournament last Summer

The Victory Christian Vikings and the TC Lady Eagles met last night in the first round of the Bradshaw Christian Christmas Tournament in Sacramento.  The Eagles flew to a quick lead and looked like they were going to bury the over-matched Vikings, buta  few key turnovers and a missed lay-up here and there combined with a three pointer by Victory's senior guard Brianna Leiford and the game became a back and forth affair.  Spurred on by the outstanding play of their own Molly, #5, the 

Vikings stayed in the game until TC turned up the heat in the fourth quarter.  When TC was forced to set up 

an offense they appeared to be so intent on running it that they did not take advantage of their superior

athletic talent.  When the Eagle's could run the court the Vikings could not keep up with them.  

The game started off with a flurry of points by TC and they leaped to an impressive 18-9 lead at the end of
the 1st quarter.  Over the 2nd and 3rd quarters the Eagles were outscored 21-19 and the Vikings looked like
like the better team.  The TC defense looked over confident and Victory took advantaged.  The fourth quarter
started with a bang and the Eagles quickly took charge.  If the Lady Eagles could string four quarters together
like last night's 1st and 4th they could be scoring over 70 points a night against teams like Victory.


Outstanding Performance Included:


Points:  Kaisa S (16), Molly F & Kara G (10 each) and Marly B & Rebekah M (8 each).
Rebounds: Marly (15) and Kaisa (10).
Blocks: Marly (4).
Steals: Natalie & Molly F (6 each).
Assists: Molly F (6) & Kara (4).


Tonight the Eagles face Wilton Christian in a battle of teams that have both been regular participants in the 
section finals or semi-finals the last few years.  Make the drive to Bradshaw Christian and watch the fire
works.


A question has been asked of the Zulkster about the last blog.  I mentioned the "chicken stuff" that was at the
TC tournament.  Do I know the difference between chicken and pork?  Apparently not:-)


I do now.

Chicken (Farrar Farms)

Pork (Random Picture)

The Eagle Has Landed: In Second Place

Over the weekend the TC Lady Eagles played in their own varsity basketball tournament at the Calvary Baptist gym. 

Click the box score to go to more game stats

Click back to return to the blog

They began the tournament facing a familiar foe in the Orestimba (Newman) Lady Warriors, a school which TC plays in every sport, and came out with a victory.  After the first quarter Orestimba led 13-11 and the game had the feel of a very lazy day.  The Eagles didn't seem to have much energy.  Coach Edwin told the girls to relax and have fun and slowly the girls came out of it and started to pull away from the Warriors.  Molly F lead the charge with 19 points.  Marly B had 3 blocks and tied with Rebeka M and Molly F with 7 rebounds.  In the end every Lady Eagle scored as Coach E substituted freely throughout the second half.

Click the box score to go to more game stats

Click back to return to the blog

On Friday the Eagles faced the Patterson Tigers in a game that looked like it was going to be much closer than it was.  The Tigers pounded Summerville, winning 50-26, the night before with a very aggressive press and dominance inside with their 6'2" center.  When the Tigers pressed Summerville the end results were lay-ups and short range jump shots and a lot of points for the  Tigers.  When they pressed TC the results were lay-ups and short jumbers for TC.  The Eagles lead 33-15 at halftime and held on for a 51-40 victory which could have easily been a much more lopsided score.  A huge amount of turnovers (37, 29 by four of the starters) was the only dark spot on the day's performance.  Outstanding performances included Molly F (15 pts & 4 blocks), Kaisa S (13 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, & 3 steals), and Marly B (12 rebounds).

Click the box score to go to more game stats

Click back to return to the blog

TC faced the Livingston Wolves in the tournament championship.  The Eagles out scored the Wolves in the first 3 quarters and looked to have a lock on the championship when the wheels came off the machine.  Leading by a score of 48-40 going into the 4th quarter the Lady Eagles were outscored 22-7 giving Livingston the tournament championship.  Again a rash of turnovers, 33 for the game, resulted in the collapse.  The TC girls appeared to think they were behind as they rushed the ball up the court, shot as soon as they could and threw desperation-like passes.  The end result was a loss to a team that was not nearly as talented as the Eagles.  Pre-season is a learning experience and I am sure the girls will learn a lesson from this loss.  On a brighter note Natalie S had a great game scoring 17 points with 3 for 3 from the 3-point line, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  Rebekah M scored 16 points with 8 out of 10 shooting, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists.   Kaisa scored 10 points, had 8 rebounds and 3 assists.  Kara G had 8 rebounds and a very nice three pointer.  Molly Z hit an impressive 25 foot 3 pointer and appeared to have been fouled, but the officials must have been thinking of the excellent food in the break room at that time because they missed the foul.  Molly F made the all-tourney team and the girls ended with a 2nd place finish.

A special thanks to all who helped with the tournament especially Melissa S and that "chicken" stuff:-)

Eagles Crush Cougars

Something New:  Click the box score to go to the game statistics
Click the back button to return to the blog.

The TC Lady Eagles opened their season at Escalon High School on Monday night.  As the JV Eagletts struggled to find their rhythm against a good Escalon JV squad more than one varsity player expected to see a very good varsity opponent.  TC came out in a full court press that the Cougars had no answer to.  The Cougars were so over matched that the Eagles had 9 offensive rebounds before Escalon even took a shot.  Layups, offensive put-backs, and an overwhelming defense held the Escalon to only 2 points in the first half, and that came on a 15 foot, eyes closed, jump shot that was very well defended by sophomore Kate Farrar.  The second half was more of the same, minus the press, and ended with a 58-12 win for TC.

On the offensive end of the court Natalie Snyder lite up the gym making 18 points on 4 for 5 from 3 point land.  Many of the baskets came with an inside outside game.  The ball would be passed into a post, such as Marly Burton, and she would pass the ball out to Natalie as the defense collapsed.  This strategy resulted in Tara Lafollette (3), Kaisa Spycher (3) and Marly (2) getting a number of assists.  Marly contributed 10 points while Rebeka Muller and Molly Farrar added 8 a piece.  The rebounding leaders included Kara Gabrielson with 7 and Rebeka and Marly pulling down 6 each.

The fans expected to see a more competitive game, since Escalon has an enrollment of about 1000 students, but had to settle for an impressive Eagle debue.  It was good to see the girls play hard through out the contest, even when they went so far ahead that the "mercy rule" took hold in the forth quarter.  The mercy rule is if a team is leading by 40 points anytime during the fourth quarter the clock does not stop for dead balls.

TC's next opponent will be Orestimba at the TC Tournament @ Calvary Baptist on Thursday, December 9.  Come on out and enjoy some really good girls basketball games.  See ya there:-)

Eagles Fall in Final Game

The Turlock Christian nemesis struck again as Bradshaw Christian ended the Eagles season with a 3-1 victory  in the semi-finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5 Volleyball Championships.  The Eagles spotted the Pride large leads in both the 1st and 4th games that could not be erase despite valiant efforts in both games by the Eagles.  The Prides height created problems for the much shorter TC players as many of Bradshaw's kills came on balls that would have been passed by a shorter team.  Bright spots in the game were 27 kills against a very big block and very good setting by both the setters.

The hope of the future was on display during the match. Natalie S (junior)was excellent in the back row with 2 digs and 7 service receives without an error. Tara L was perfect from the service line.  Stephanie S. had two attacks with one resulting in a kill.  Arin M. had 27 total touches, which was 21% of all defensive opportunities during the match.  Lastly, Rebekah was Rebekah with kills, digs, and sets.  Next year's team will be fun to watch.

Outstanding Performances for the match included:

Kills: Rebekah M. (8), Kara G. (8) & Molly Z. (4)
Aces: Kara (4)
Blocks: Rebekah (3) & Kaisa S. (1)
Assists: Molly F (12) & Rebekah (9)
Digs: Arin M & Cheyenne P (13 each), Molly F (11)
Dig %: Rebekah & Molly Z (100%)

Eagles Advance to Section Semi-Finals

Eagles take first-round sweep
TC volleyball moves on after dominating match

Turlock Christian’s Molly Farrar goes up for a block against Stone Ridge Christian on Tuesday night during the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Tournament at Calvary Baptist Gym.

CHHUN SUN / The Journal

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By Chhun Sun
Sports Writer
csun@turlockjournal.com
209-634-9141, ext. 2041

POSTED  Nov. 9, 2010 11:33 p.m.

The most telling play had to be the last. The Turlock Christian volleyball players just needed one more point to finish off visiting Stone Ridge Christian in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Tournament on Tuesday night at Calvary Baptist Gym.The Eagles had plenty of advantages at this point.This was a home playoff game. By this time, they were up two sets to none. And then the ball went toward the ground and Molly Zuhlke went in for a scoop. It was difficult to see if the senior had gotten to it in time or not.That might explain why the opposing Knights stopped on the play.The Eagles didn’t, and they capitalized on it. The ball eventually went over the other side of the net and Stone Ridge Christian didn’t recover in time, finishing off the night with a three-game sweep (25-10, 25-20, 25-22). With the win, No. 3 Turlock Christian will host another home playoff game on Thursday against No. 7 Bradshaw Christian at 7 p.m.They got here because of a no-quit attitude, even if the Eagles were winning by a lot. The match’s final play also resulted in the Stone Ridge Christian coach slamming his clipboard against his team bench, though he quickly settled and congratulated his players and the Eagles for a hard-fought match.“It was encouraging to see my girls not give up on a point, not stop playing,” TC coach Keith Landmeier said. “That was one thing I saw throughout the night, that they didn’t stop playing on any ball.”From the very beginning the Eagles dominated.Sure, they were some hiccups, but the TC players overcome it every time. On this night, the Eagles had plenty of weapons in Rebekah Muller (eight kills, three aces), Molly Farrar (three blocks, 12 assists), Kara Gabrielson (11 digs) and Kaisa Spycher (three aces).Now, the Eagles are one win away from the Division V title game.“We didn’t over-think anything,” Farrar said. “We had confidence that we’d play our best. As long as we do that, I think we know we can do well and teams have to look out.”To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.

Lady Eagles to Play Bradshaw @ Home

To see the next round of the volleyball play-offs click on MaxPrep Division V Play-off Bracket

Look for the Stone Ridge game in this evening's blog.  GO EAGLES!

Eagles Make the Play-offs.

The Lady Eagles are on their way to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Sections play-off with the first game tonight against the Stone Ridge Christian Knights.  The Eagles ended the Southern League season tied for 2nd place with the Mariposa Grizzles at 11 wins and 3 losses.  A home & home split gave the Grizzles the 2nd place tie.  RC pretty much dominated the league, losing only 2 games, not matches, 2 games in the entire league schedule.  The Eagles drew a very good bracket as the section twicked the seeding by moving Stone Ridge to the 6th seed to avoid playing a league oppenent in the 1st round.  They would have faced Big Valley their league champion in that round.  So the Eagles will play Stone Ridge and Big Valley will play Bradshaw, a team who beat the Eagles earlier in the year.  TC will play the winner, after they win tonight:-), of the Big Valley Bradshaw game.  If Bradshaw wins the game will be Thursday @ Calvary.  If Big Valley wins TC will travel Thursday to Big Valley in Modesto to play.

The play-offs will be the final games for the six seniors. 

Kara, Kaisa, Molly Z & Paige

Molly Z, Kara, Molly F & Cheyenne

Time sure flies, WOW!   That class of "11" has been fun to watch.

The Long Knights of Winter Draw Near

The Knights of RC rolled into the Eagle's Nest and proceeded to knock the "birds of prey" out of the air.  The Eagles appeared to be intimidated by the Knights despite RC not being near as talented as I had been told.  I missed the 1st match and was told how good RC was, but if TC had been playing to the level that they have the past 5 or 6 games they would have extended the match and possibly even won.  RC had some really nice plays and they took it to the Eagles in games 1 and 2, but the home team seemed to have an over-abundance of nerves in those games.  The final game of the match was much more like the Eagles, as they stayed close from start to finish.  The thing that set the Knights apart was their ability to make accurate passes to the setter and, because of that, finish with big attacks.  When TC controlled RC's first pass by serving weaker passers, like their libero, they were able to pass better and attack with authority.   TC's inability to consistently receive serve, more then 30% of the serves were not returned, prevented the Eagles from getting into any type of attach.  The third game of the match showed the crowd what the Eagles can play like.  The game was very close, the teams trading the led several time, very few service receiving errors, and the end result was a very close game (23-25).

TC travels to Mariposa to face the third place team in the league.  The Grizzles are the only team that has given RC a scare during the Southern League and is always very difficult to beat in the Bear Den.

Molly Drinking Her Pre-Game Meal

What about the Play-offs?
The Eagles are currently seeded 3rd in the Sac-Joaquin D-5 Play-offs and they need to win the rest of their games to avoid having to play on the same side of the bracket as RC, the number 1 seed.

Make the trip up the hill and cheer the Lady Eagles on.

TC Defeats LeGrand

The TC Eagles traveled to LeGrand to play the fouth place Bulldogs and came away with a 3-0 (25-22) (29-27) (25-19) victory.  The Lady Eagles improved to 9-1 in the Southern League. All the games were exciting and close.  The second game went into extra-points with the teams trading the led repeatedly.  The team had a very good hitting night with 36 kills as the Bulldogs rarely used more than one blocker, and sometime no blockers, at a time.  Rebekah M took advantage killing the ball 9 times and Kaisa S with 8 kills.  Kaisa also lead the all servers with 3 aces and 9 service points and Molly Z with 8 service points.  The front row blocked 6 of LeGrands kill attmepts as Molly F and Rebekah M had 3 each.  The Bulldogs played a really good defensive match as they were able to dig 54 kill attempts by the Eagles but TC attempted over one hundred kills that in the end overwhelmed the "no block - all defense" LeGrand philosopy of volleyball.  It is always entertaining to watch the LeGrand coach react to all things volleyball, especially the refs and her own players.  Way to go TC.

Some of our favorite non-seniors:-)

The Coyoto's Howl But Don't Bite

The Lady Eagles continue to be impressive in Southern League play as they improve to 8 wins and only 1 loss.  The long road trips seem to be upon them as they travel to LeGrand today and then to Mariposa next Tuesday with Ripon Christian at home in between on Thursday.   With only five league games left TC could tied for the league championship if they win the rest of the games.  That will be difficult, as they play an excellent RC team and then a very good Mariposa, who took RC to five games and were leading with a score of 12-8 in the fifth game before losing 2-3.   RC is beatable and TC could be the beater:-)

Three of the top TC hitters

The Denair Coyote's came to the Eagle's Nest for a homecoming week match and couldn't deliver the upset.  The Eagles looked a little fatigued but managed to beat the Coyotes 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-10).  Coach Keith made liberal substitutions, especially in the 3rd game, and gave everyone the opportunity to play.  The result was a little bit of inconsistency in the girls performances but the end result was still a decisive victory.

The big hitters for the night were lead by Kaisa S with 5 kills.  Other impressive kills came from Molly F, with a slamming shoot (low and from far, far away) and Kara G with 4 a piece, Molly Z with 3, including a sweet back row attack, and Cheyenne P with 2 kills.

"Molly's to the 2nd power" led the team with  4 aces (Molly F) and 2 aces (Molly Z) from the service line. 

Senior starters put on their game faces

The big girls at the net were Molly F with 3 blocks and Kaisa with 2.  Blocks are a fairly rare event because they must result in a point to be considered a "block".  If the other team keeps the ball in play then no block is recorded.

The Lady Eagles played a pretty good match considering Denair is scrappy and not very talented and that the demands of homecoming week are especially taxing on members of ASB, which many of our players are part of.  Good job girls.

Come out and support the team at LeGrand.  Just go south on HWY 99 past Merced, turn left on LeGrand Road and go about 7 miles, the high school is on the right.  See Ya There.

Gustine Shows Improvement

With the Lady Eagles four players down the Gustine Redskins held their own against the not so high flying Eagles.  The team was playing short handed as four of the regulars arrived at the bus late and were benched for the entire match.   The players taking this opportunity for extended playing time, rose to the occasion.  Natalie S played an excellent match with 2 kills, 3 aces, an assist, and a team leading 12 digs and 9 service receives.  Way to go "Natester":-)

Waiting for the Serve

Other Outstanding Performances included:

Kills:  Molly Z and Stephanie S (6 each), Rebekah M (3), and Natalie S and Tare L (2 each).
Aces: Cheyenne P (5), Natalie S (3) and Rebekah (2).
Assists: Rebekah (16) and Natalie (1).
Digs: Natalie (12), Rebekah (11), Arin M (10) and Cheyenne (7).
Service Receives: Natalie (9), Arin (6), Cheyenne (5) and Molly Z (4).

Great effort and its was a nice look at some of the future stars with 3 juniors and 2 sophomores playing most of the match.

The TC Eaglettes Get Ready to Rumble

The TC Eaglettes played an outstanding game as they defeated the Gustine Redskins.  The freshman plus 1 sophomore won the Orestimba (Newman) Freshman Tournament over the weekend to contine a very successful season.  Way to go girls:)

The JV gets ready to play some volleyball @ Gustine.

What's Happening at the top of the Southern League

Mariposa pushed RC to the limit and lost in a 5 game match at Grizzle Den last Thursday, which would have thrown the league into a three way tie for first.  I believe, though not confirmed, that the 5th game went to 15-13.  Almost:o

TC Beats Scrappy Waterford Wildcats

The Lady Eagles came out smokin as they crushed the Wildcats 25-5 in the first game.  Waterford had no answer to the dominate serving of the Eagles and looked like a JV team against a varsity squad.  The TC dominance lasted all of one game.  Inspired play by the Wildcats and/or major over-confidence by TC in the second game resulted in a 25-20 win for Waterford.  The Wildcats played well the rest of the night with two 20-25 games to close the match.

Outstanding Performances Included:

Kills: Kara G (8), Molly Z and Rebekah M (6), and Kaisa S (5)

Servive Aces: Molly Z (6)

Assits:  Molly Z (13), Rebekah M (6) and the newest setter Kaisa S (1)

Digs: Rebekah (18), Cheyenne P (16), Arin M and Molly F (12 each)

Service Receiving: Arin M and Molly Z (13 each)

Mariposa No Longer Undefeated in Southern League

The Grizzles of Mariposa came out of the mountains and ended up stepping into a trap. Mariposa was undefeated in league play when they came into the Eagles Nest last Thursday. The Eagles faced their second quality opponent of the week and manged to send the Grizzles home with their first Southern League defeat. The match was one of the most exciting of the year as the two teams traded points and managed to force 3 extra point games.  The defensive effort by the Lady Eagles was outstanding and led to many opportunistic offensive attacks and points.  Mariposa is a good team that could never get in a rhythm because of the outstanding digs and service receives.

Outstanding Efforts:

Kills:  Rebekah M. (10), Kara G (8), Molly F (7) and Molly Z (5)

Service Points: Kara (12), Molly F. (11) and Molly Z (10)

Blocks: Stephanie S (3), Kaisa S and Kara G (2 each)

Assists: Rebekah (20), Molly F (16) and a shout out to Molly Zs 1st (1)

Dig % (10+):  Molly Z (17/17 100%), Molly F (12/12 100%), Arin M. (20/21 96%), Rebekah and Cheyenne P (18/19 95%), and Kara G (16/18 89%)

Service Receiving % (15+):  Kara G (100% - 20/20), Molly Z (91% - 21/23), Cheyenne P (88% - 14/16) and Arin M (80% - 12/15)

Look for the Waterford and Delhi blogs this weekend.

Hope to see you all at tonight's game vs Delhi @ Calvary.  JV is at 5 and the varsity follows around 6.

Dreamin About the Next Game

TC @ Carmichal 31
Originally uploaded by Zulkman

Coach Ken snapped this picture of the varsity team at the Carmichal Tournament. Can you find all eleven players? Yes they are all there. Thanks for the contribution to the blog Coach:-) Double click on the picture to get a larger version.

Carmichal Tournament a Roller Coaster Ride

The Eagles played in the Carmichael Varsity Volleyball Tournament on Saturday and won 2 times and loss 3 times.  They beat one team that they were expected to beat, Woodland Christian, and one team nobody was expected to beat, Marin Academy.

Molly Z prepares to serve

The girls ended the tournament in the top 8 with a loss to Bear Creek of Stockton.

The big high light of the tournament was when the Lady Eagles beat Marin Academy, 15th ranked in the entire state of California in division five, 2-0.  Marin entered the game having beating 3 opponents in straight sets.  In first game the Eagles took a large lead and never let it go.  In the second game the battle was intense.  The teams traded leads but in the end the Lady Eagles skinned the Marin Wildcats.

The Lady Eagles: The calm before the storm

Outstanding Tournament Performances:

Kills:
Rebekah M. (17), Molly F. (13), Kaisa S. and Kara G. (8), Molly Z. (6) and Stephanie S. (3).

Service Aces:
Rebekah M. and Kaisa S. (10), Molly F. and Tara L. (7), Molly Z. (3) and Cheyenne P (2).

Assists:
Molly F and Rebekah M. (25 each)

Digs:
Rebekah M. (39), Kara G. (38), Molly F. (33), and Molly Z. (21).

Dig % (at least 8):
Molly Z and Cheyenne P (100%), Molly F (92%), Kara G. (90%), Arin M. (89%) and Rebekah M. (85%).

A big game is on the schedule for tonight as the Lady Eagles travel to Ripon Christian for a clash of two of the remaining Southern League undefeated.  Make the trip to Ripon to cheer the girls on.  Most of you will be looking at this after the fact and I hope the stunning defeat of RC is on your mind.  The "Zulkster" has parent teacher conferences tonight (I'm the teacher part of the conference) and can't make the game:-(

Tournament Time: Hurry Up and Wait

The girls are at the Carmichal Tournament this weekend for their annual migration to the greater Sacramento area.  They are playing all day long at the Jackson Sports Academy at 5237 Walnut Ave in Citrus Heights.  Hope to see you there.

What to expect at a volleyball tournament:

Pride for inanimate objects

Stimulating Conversation

Gourmet Dinning

Harmonizing

Peace (see foreground:-)

Rude Return for Gustine

The Gustine Redskins made their 2010 Southern League return after 4 years in the Western Athletic Conference, which include other westside schools Orestimba and Patterson.  The Southern League will be a better fit for the Redskins with a student population of just over 500.  That will place Gustine in the middle of the SL pack with TC (180), RC (280), and Denair (375) smaller and LeGrand (550), Waterford, Delhi and Maripose all around 670 students larger.

The Redskin's introduction to TC volleyball was a negative experience all around as the JV Eaglettes opened the evening with a 3 set win to begin the Southern League season.

The Big Hitters Request Their Sets

(Pretend this picture is vs. Gustine)

The varsity came out swinging as Molly Z. and Kara G pounded the stuffing out of the ball with 8 and 6 kills respectively.  The team as a whole had an impressive 25 kills against the Red & White.  As if the kills were not enough Rebekah M. and Kaisa S. provided 12 of the teams 15 aces, Becca with 7 and Kai with 5.  The visitors never new what hit them.  A third setter arrived on the hardwood with Kara G.  getting 7 assists, many to Molly Z, with very impressive ball handling.  It was a fun game for the girls, fans, and parents as all the players played in at least 2 of the three games.

Tara Pounds the Ball

Tonight the girls improved to 2-0 in the Southern League.  Look for the upcoming blog about that game:-)

Come out and see the girls at home on Thursday night against LeGrand.

Pride take Eagles

The Bradshaw Christian Pride brought their volleyball show to the Eagles nest and showed why they are one of the early favorites to win their 1st section crown this year.  The Pride went to the finals of the Sac-Joaquin D-5 tourny last year, eventually falling to the RC Knights.  The Eagles last preseason match was close throughout the 3 games (27-29, 20-25, 23-25) but the big hitters and TC's lack of big blockers gave the advantage to the much taller Pride.  Throughout the close games the crowd was impressed with some outstanding back row play by Molly Zuhlke and Kara Gabrielson, excellent hustle and dives by Rebekah Muller, and big hits by Rebekah, Molly Z, with the nice shoot, and Kaisa Spycher.

Outstanding Performance:

Kills:  
Rebekah (8), Molly Z (3), Kaisa (3)
Service Points:
Rebekah (11), Molly Farrar (7) and Molly Z (6)
Assists:
Molly F (10), Rebekah (6)
Digs:
Rebekah (20), Kara G (13) and Arin Morelli (11)
Service Receiving:
Molly Z (16), Kara (15) and Stephanie St. pierre (9)

Come out to the game tomorrow as the Eagles welcome the Gustine Redskins back to the Southern League.

Headline: Bulldog Bites Bird

The Lady Bulldogs came into the Calvary gym and took a hard fought victory 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 18-25, 25-12) from the Lady Eagles. All the games had some really exciting play as the Eagles continued to hustle throughout the match.  Many of the players had some really nice attaches led by Rebekah Muller's 10 kills.  At the service line Kaisa Spycher (14 serves), Molly Zuhlke (10 serves) and Arin Morelli (9 serves) had very strong serving nights with no errors.  Defensively the team had 5 blocks (Kaisa 3 and Molly F 2) and 93% digging effciency, which is pretty good:-), with Paige Ulrich leading the team with 11 digs and Molly F, Cheyenne, and Molly Z with 9 each.   Service receiving was off with 82% efficiency, which is below the "good" average of about 87% and I'm sure the girls are working on that part of the game as I report.

The game was very entertaining and very exciting despite the loss.  I thing a quote from a classic movie which I'm sure all of you have viewed, Galaxy Quest, is appropriate for the Lady Eagles, "Never give up!  Never surrender!"

Looking forward to Thursday's game at Modesto Christian High School with the JV starting at 6 PM.

Eagles Defeat Warriors

The TC Lady Eagles improved to 2 wins and no losses as they came from behind to shock a confident Orestimba Warrior team.  The Eagles flew out to a first game victory and then fell in the next two games, being soundly routed in the second game and then dropping far behind in the third game before seeing a valiant comeback fall short.  After the second game the long time official, Bill Pickle, predicted a 5 game match but when the girls fell behind 1-2 after the 3rd game I had my doubts.  I am happy to say Bill was right on as the girls showed what they were made of in the final two games.  Game four was back and forth and ended in a 27-25 TC victory.  The final game, a 15 point game, was all TC.

Kills:  Rebekah M (11), Kaisa S (8) and Molly F (6)
Service Points:  Molly F (15), Rebekah (14) and Molly Z (12)
Service Aces: Molly F (3), Rebekah (4)
Assists:  Molly F (12), Rebekah (10)
Digs: Arin M (13), Paige U (9), Cheyenne P (9)


JV Plays Well Against Orestimba

The JV continued to impress the fans with a hard fought loss to the Orestimba Warriors.

Eagles Break the Lancers

The Turlock Christian Lady Eagles opened their 2010 campaign in Manteca on Friday night against the East Union Lancers.  The battle of the "red, white, and blues" was nothing but the blues for the Lady Lancers as TC won the match 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19).   The offense was led by Molly Farrar as she passed out 14 assists, many going to Rebekah Muller who led the team with 9 kills.  Rebekah also had a team leading 8 digs.  Kaisa Spycher had an outstanding game with several kills from her off hand spot (for a right handed hitter this is the right side of the net) and had 2 blocks.  Kara Gabrielson was the big weapon from the service line with 6 aces.  All the girls contributed to the victory.  Molly Zuhlke had several back row attacks, Paige Ulrich played well all the way around, and Cheyenne Perry had excellent plays on and off the net. We were introduced to this year's libero as Arin Morelli did a very good job across the back.

The team was exciting to watch with some big hits (Molly F, Kaisa, Molly Z., and Rebekah), great serves (Kara, Rebekah, Molly Z., and Kaisa had serves that made the Lancers look bad), and a ton of energy.  There seems to be a "vib" with the entire team that says, "We are family".  I know I am excited:-)

JV Plays Well

The Eaglettes look like a team with a lot of potential, despite falling to the Lancers in two.  The team came out for the second game and led by a score of  21-18, but the Lancers put on a run and came back to win.  We are looking forward to many exciting games as the season progresses.

Need photos:  If you take photos at the games I would love to use them in the blog.  If you know how to attach things to e-mail that is one way to get them to me.  If you have them on a camera disk you can give them to me and I can transfer the pictures to my computer and return the disk at the next game.

Volleyball: Just Around the Corner

The teams have been chosen and the schedules set for the 2010 Varsity Lady Eagles and Junior Varsity Eagletts and they are looking forward to the first scrimmage of the year.  They will square off against the Pitman Pride on Monday at 3:30 for the varsity and approximately 4:50 for the JV at the Calvary gym.  This is a rarity with the varsity game going first, so remember to come to the entire scrimmage to see both the teams.

Here is the Varsity roster;

# 1 Arin Morelli - Sophomore


#2 Rebekah Muller (Captian) - Junior

#3 Kate Farrar - Sophomore

#4 Molly Farrar - Senior


#5 Kara Gabrielson (Captian) - Senior

#10 Paige Ulrich - Senior


#12 Natalie Snyder - Junior

#13 Kaisa Spycher - Senior


#14 Cheyenne Perry - Senior

#23 Molly Zuhlke - Senior

#25 Tara La follette - Junior

Stunning Development in Lake Tahoe

Lady Eagle a True Champion! (update)


It has been brought to my attention that I missed reporting a very exciting event that took place at the South Lake Tahoe Basketball Jamboree, that is the "free throw" shooting contest.  All the participating athletes were entered into the contest, somewhere between 80 and 300 hundred girls, a lot closer to 80 than 300, in which they shot free throws in about four separate rounds.  The girls were divided into 12 or so groups in two gyms and had a five free throw 1st round shoot-out.  The winners of the first round then had a shoot-out, and on and on.  The two Molly's both did very well, one hitting 4 out of 5 free throws but somehow did not qualify because she did not win her group because 3 others hit 5 of 5, while the other Molly made 3 out of 5, best in her group, and make the final rounds.  This reporter is not bitter in any way, but thought it odd the the better percentage resulted in absolutely no glory :-(

Teammates Kara and "4 out of 5" Molly attempt to keep the ball away from Molly before the finals.

As you may have picked up, Molly Farrar entered the finals and destroyed the opposition and won the "2010 South Lake Tahoe Basketball Jamboree Free Throw Championship".  Quoting from the movie Brave Heart, "They can take our lives, but they cannot take our Free Throw Championship" something like that:-)

Molly refuses to shoot her free throws without a defender

Molly and friends celebrate her victory (The girl on the right doesn't seem to happy)

Way to go Molly F., we expected a great season at the free throw line from a proven champion:-)

South Lake Tahoe: Vacation or Girls Tournament

The Lady Eagles: Lake Tahoe 2010

The girl's basketball summer program came to an end as they traveled to the South Lake Tahoe Basketball Jamboree for the seventh straight year.  The team stayed in an excellent "cabin" that accommodated the entire team (10 players), the Coach and Mrs. Coach, many of the parents.  With excellent meals and good company the team, parents, and coach had a very positive bonding experience:-).  The girls played well, ending the five day trip with 5 wins and 3 losses.  The girls arrived on Tuesday and had two pre-tournament games on Wednesday beating Lynbook of San Jose, a team returning 3 of its top five scorers from the 2010 season.  Next the girls played White Pine of Ely, Nevada and won again.  On Tuesday the team lost to Redmond, OR and to Carondelet.  The Carondelet team took 2nd in the California Division 2 State Tournament last year and was ranked 8th in the state in all divisions.  They are returning almost their entire 2009-2010 team.  Friday the girls entered the consolation tournament and proceeded to win the rest of their games.  The first team they faced was CSD (California School of the Deaf) and were surprised to find out that special needs does not mean an easy win as the CSD Eagles were semi-finalist in last year's North Coast Section tournament.  The Lady-Eagles battled through poor shooting and a very speedy team to eventually win 36-32.  The second game of the day was against the host South Tahoe Vikings, a Nevada Division 4A school, which is like California's largest division, but would have a hard time having a winning record in the Southern League.  The girl's jumped all over the Vikings and ended with a 54-23 win.  The final day of the tournament TC played Alhambra of Martinez and won 50-39.  

The Long Walk - Zepher Cove - Down = Beach, Up = Car



Zepher Cove

The trip also include plenty of shopping at the very large outdoor mall in South Lake Tahoe,  a trip to Zepher Cove for swimming in the lake and tanning on the beach, (I missed that part of the trip, having come up on Thursday, and thus no one had to endure the "Zulkster" in a swim suit;-) and the team's traditional dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in State Line, Nevada.   

Coach Edwin received a much needed gift from the seniors