Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Vikings sweep Pauma Volleyball Tournament

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The tournaments for seven small elementary schools in northern San Diego County and southern Riverside County resumed Sept. 23, with the Pauma Volleyball Tournament at Pauma Elementary School, and Vallecitos Elementary School won both the boys and the girls championships.

"Both the boys and the girls played really well. They were pretty dominant, especially the girls," said Vallecitos coach Ray Hanbeck.

Due to positive coronavirus tests, Julian Elementary School unfortunately did not participate in the Pauma Volleyball Tournament and Warner Elementary School in Warner Springs fielded a girls team only. The Pauma Volleyball Tournament consisted of round-robin play, so each girls team had five games and the boys teams had four games. All matches were one game up to 20 points, although a team had to win by at least two points.

In February 2020, the schools participated in a basketball tournament at Borrego Springs Elementary School. Rain postponed the original March 2020 date for the cross country meet at Hamilton Elementary School in Anza, and the coronavirus outbreak canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 tournaments and all the 2020-21 tournaments.

"I think they were excited because they had had a year without sports," Hanbeck said.

Vallecitos had 13 girls and 11 boys for the volleyball tournament. School began Aug. 19, and the Vikings started practice Aug. 30. "We had just four weeks to get ready," Hanbeck said.

The Vallecitos girls began with a 20-6 win over Pauma and then took a 20-8 victory over Warner. The score against Hamilton was 20-3. The match against Cottonwood (Aguanga) was a 20-6 Vikings triumph. The Vallecitos girls concluded the tournament by winning a 20-7 contest against Borrego Springs.

"They were really strong against all the schools," Hanbeck said. "They dominated in every game so we were super proud."

The Vallecitos boys had a 20-7 victory over Pauma, a 20-6 win against Cottonwood, a 20-11 triumph in the match with Hamilton, and a 20-16 winning score in the finale against Borrego Springs.

"They were strong in all the games," Hanbeck said. "I'm very happy that we were able to start the year off with a victory for both the boys and girls - it was a proud moment for the school."

The Vallecitos boys and girls also swept the 2019 Pauma Volleyball Tournament, and the current 8th-graders who played for the Vikings in 2019 functioned as the player leaders of the teams. Yamilee Rico, Jovana Rivera and Berenice Yanez were the girls leaders while Jordan Anicete and Andres Rivera led the boys.

The student leaders were essential as the boys and girls often played simultaneously and Hanbeck had to leave one game to coach the other team. "They were able to independently carry on," Hanbeck said. "It's pretty amazing that they were able to do that."

Each of the schools hosts a tournament for a different sport throughout the year. The next tournament will be the Vallecitos Soccer Tournament at Vallecitos Elementary School and Rainbow Park, which will be Nov. 4 if weather permits.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/15/2024 08:38