Come support the Butte roadrunners in their fitst playoff game!!

Nichols plays “D” – 30 digs for a three game match!  Nichols would not let a ball hit the floor.  It was a great exhibition of athletic ability and “endeavoring to persevere”! 

Down 20-24 in Game One, Bridgett McClarrinon came off the bench  to serve- point - 21-24, Siskiyous calls time out.  McClarrinon serves for another point with Nichols getting a kill 22-24, service ace, service ace 24-24, another time out.  Auburn Kennedy digs a ball, Tessa Bekendam set Chantal Vanderbilt, kill, point Butte, 25-24.  McClarrinon looks to Coach Page, five fingers go up, the serve is deep five, a 1 pass and a free ball.  Set #4 (Nichols) and KILL.  Butte wins 26-24.

Defensive specialist, sophomore Auburn Kennedy, was the backbone of the team this evening.  Kennedy passed a perfect 3.0 for the match, keeping the Roadrunners within striking distance  as Siskiyous kept the pressure on the Runners.  8 digs by Kennedy led to three conversions points in crucial junctures in  Game One and Game Two.  Butte wins Game Two 26-24.

Game Three looked like a blowout.  Ahead 24 -14, Siskiyous refused to die.  Tough serves and a kill by Camille Miller brought the Eagles to 20-24 before Nichols crushed a ball for set, match and the win.   

Butte ends their regular season with a 22-7 record; 9-1 for the Golden Valley Conference.  The Sophomores finished their two-year experience at Butte with  51 wins and 11 losses – two GVC titles.

Go BC!!

Go check out our article by the Chicoer!http://www.chicoer.com/sports/ci_13718712

Also check out the story they did on Sarah Nichols!http://www.chicoer.com/advertise/ci_13710062?IADID=Search-www.chicoer.com-www.chicoer.com

Go Roadrunners!

Saturday’s Butte Classic began with #1 state ranked Sacramento College playing College of the Sequoia’s. Sac. City defeated the Giants in three sets. Butte then played Sequoia’s and defeated them 25-15, 25-18, 25-13. The Roadrunners were led by outside hitters Kayla Wilson with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of 428 and Sarah Nichols who had 10 kills, 3 service aces, 3 blocks, and thirteen digs. Middle blocker Megan Peterson had six kills, seven blocks, and two service aces. Setter, Tessa Bekendam, had 31 assists, 3 service aces, and 3 blocks for the match. Kelli Stanley, libero, had 14 digs for the match. In the second match of the day Sacramento City showed why they are ranked the number one team in the north region and number 1 in the state, defeating the Roadrunners 20-25, 13-25, and 23-25. Kayla Wilson’s attack was efficient and effective with 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .450. Sarah Nichols had 13 kills and thirteen digs; Tessa Bekendam had 25 assists, 15 digs, and 3 blocks, and Auburn Kennedy had ten digs for the match. The Roadrunners are now 19-6 overall and 4-1 in the Golden Valley Conference

Communication was a major emphasis for team play today, and it was evident in their ability to hear and execute the plays. The team worked to verbally announce what was happening throughout the match, and their efforts were successful.  We were able to play 13 ball players tonight, and received contributions from each which was awesome to watch.

We have been without starting OPP hitter, Chantal Vanderbilt, the last two matches who is home sick with the “pig flu”.  We have had to adjust our starting lineup, and players have filled the role with aplomb.

Way to go BC!

Butte is now 16 and 5 for the season and 2 – 1 in the Golden Valley Conference. Butte’s next home game will be Saturday, October 24th against Sequoias and the number one ranked team in the northstate, Sacramento City College.

By PATRICK KINMARTIN-Sports Writer

Posted: 10/10/2009 12:19:15 AM PDT

BUTTE VALLEY — Getting the Golden Valley Conference championship last season required the Butte College volleyball team to score over 700 points. So when the Roadrunners needed to score just two straight under intense pressure on Friday night, the task wasn’t overwhelming. And the pride that their large group of members back from last year’s success holds dear came in handy. Poised Butte propelled itself to the finish line ahead of Feather River in a five-game marathon at Cowan Gym that showed the Roadrunners how tough winning another GVC crown this year could be. “It was all about having the heart to want to win more than they did,” Butte middle blocker Megan Peterson said following the 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 18-16 triumph. “Feather River is our conference rival and they were able to come to our home and take two games. They almost beat us all the way but we wouldn’t let it happen.” The two points that separated Butte above Feather River in the decisive fifth game were strikingly similar to the three spots that separate the Roadrunners in front of the Golden Eagles in the state rankings. Butte (13-5, 1-0 GVC) is No. 15 in the current poll and Feather River (10-7, 0-1) is 18th. They did find themselves on even ground at 14-14 during the last gasps of the battle in the fifth — Butte was in position to win right then until a surprisingly wild service error from Butte co-captain Kelli Stanley on a ball that sailed long. Butte went back up 15-14 and went for another winner when outside hitter Kayla Wilson was at the net to crush a shot at Feather River’s Stacey Main. The clash for that point was won by Main, who blocked Wilson’s attempt seamlessly, but Butte took the lead once more on the next play after setter Tessa Bekendam and Peterson executed together to produce a sharp kill.

The 16-15 edge for Butte didn’t last long, disappearing on an impressive offensive shot from Main to get Feather River back even. The Roadrunners were able to break serve thanks to good work by Peterson in the middle on the next possession that forced a Feather River miscue.

On match point, a rally was developing but stopped after opposite hitter Chantal Vanderbilt poked a difficult, long pass across court into the heart of the swing zone for Butte’s go-to scorer, Sarah Nichols. An error was Feather River’s only hope to survive again and the Golden Eagles didn’t get it from Nichols, who crisply completed the play.

Nichols, Peterson, Stanley and Vanderbilt were all key members of last year’s GVC title team.

“We just got goosebumps out there,” Butte coach Chuck Johnson said about his veteran-filled team’s ability to thrive in the tense atmosphere.

The skill of maintaining confidence through distress was also apparent.

Stanley’s errant serve that brought Feather River back into contention from the 14-13 deficit was followed by a play where both teams forced each other into sloppy offensive positioning. The Roadrunners were the first to reorganize and received the go-ahead kill from Wilson.

Wilson herself had to get through nightmarish instances throughout the night, mainly because time and again she was unable to beat Feather River’s well-positioned blocking. She also received a severe lecture from Johnson right after a lazy hit in game two, which helped Feather River reverse momentum to come back from down 9-3 to win the set and tie the match.

Yet Wilson, who finished with 13 kills in 32 attempts, had two kills early in that dramatic fifth game to help get Butte its 5-2 advantage.

“The girls didn’t carry anything around with them,” Johnson said. “They were looking forward at the next situation and saying, ‘Let’s go!’ Which is exactly what they did.”

Johnson also praised the unexpected contributions of freshman Kelsey Schwartz. The 5-foot-11 Chico High product didn’t enter the fray until the fourth game and almost immediately forced the Golden Eagles’ attention with a series of strong blocks in the middle.

Johnson believes that Nichols, who finished with 12 kills but only had three during Butte’s losses in the second and third sets, benefited most.

“(Feather River) had to deal with Schwartz,” he said. “She changed their attack.”