The Calistoga High volleyball team has mastered the art of doing things the hard way throughout the 2009 season.

The Wildcats, who are 7-9 entering today’s road match at Roseland Prep (Santa Rosa), rallied for the second time in as many matches to win in five games.

Calistoga downed Santa Rosa Christian 12-25, 25-18, 25-20, 17-25, 15-13 Tuesday.

“Standard operating procedure,” Wildcats head coach Ben Hartelt quipped.

From an individual standpoint, Hartelt continued to praise the work of setter Ceci Cuenca. 

“She is an unbelievable setter and is distinguishing herself as a top athlete in our league,” Hartelt said.

Hartelt was also effusive in his praise for Nicole Taylor in her role of leadership.  

“What we are finding is that we are capable of defending the net,” Hartelt said.

“We have Rochelle Wright and Lauren Maxfield blocking at the net and our defense of Erin Lilly and Chloe Umble in the back row defend very well. We have good team chemistry that is proving itself to be effective.”

Calistoga 3, Sonoma Academy 2

The Wildcats won a seesaw battle on Thursday in a road match in outlasting the Coyotes 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 17-15.

Calistoga trailed 14-13 in the fifth game but pulled out the victory. 

The match featured many long rallies by both teams. The Wildcats also had to thrust players into unfamiliar roles with the biggest example being Umble.

Maxfield was enjoying a solid first game but jammed her thumb and was out of action the rest of the match.

Umble, who is normally a back row player, had to vacate Maxfield’s position of middle hitter.

“Once she got used to the position, she made plays,” Hartelt said of Umble.

“Chloe had to deal with a lot of pressure because Lauren has been a solid member of our team. The other team thought they had it, but Chloe never gave up. By game five she was dominating the net.”

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