DELTA COLLEGE SPORTS
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Delta’s Kalani Vaughns (11) and Melanie Balaban (14) go up for a block during the first game against American River College at the Delta Classic Saturday at Marcopulos Gym. CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD
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STOCKTON — Delta College volleyball coach Molly Mordaunt learned just how good her squad is — for now.
Stacked up against many of last year’s top-ranked California teams in the 2015 Delta Classic, the fifth-seeded Mustangs finished sixth in the 16-team tournament after third-seeded American River College downed the Mustangs 25-19, 19-25, 14-25, 25-19, 15-9 in the fifth-sixth place match Saturday at Delta’s Marcopulos Gym.
“Two of the teams in this tournament from Northern California most likely will be in the Final Four (at the end of the season),” Mordaunt said. “I think we learned a lot (about our team). We see exactly where we want to be in two months.”
The Mustangs quickly fell behind the Beavers and eventually lost the first game, but Delta’s serve-receive and passing attack in the second and third games suddenly had the Beavers out of their rhythm and the Mustangs had all the momentum.
Mustangs freshman hitter Danielle Erdelatz had one of her 10 kills in the match to finish off American River in the second game set up by a beautiful cross-court pass from sophomore Kirsten Kielhold, and then Erdelatz drilled an ace to finish off the Beavers in game three.
Delta sophomore Cassidy Caton led the Mustangs with 15 kills, and freshman Lizzy Gray had six kills.
Delta opened with a sweep over Lassen (25-8, 25-18, 25-13) and lost 3-0 to Foothill (25-17, 25-17, 28-26) before rebounding with a 3-0 win over Gavilan (25-20, 25-22, 25-11) to set up the match against ARC.
“Our team played well, but we still have a lot of room for growth,” said sophomore Kalani Vaughns, who finished with eight kills. “I felt like we gave a lot (of effort) against ARC. We didn’t come out with the win, but it shows us we have room to improve.”
Erianna Williams led the Beavers with 19 kills, followed by Kaitlin Meyer and Dani Schoen with 11 and 10 kill.
“I think everyone was tired,” said Beavers coach Gabe Gardner, a member of the 2008 U.S. men’s gold medal volleyball team in Beijing. “It’s a long tournament with a lot of matches. I’m really proud of my girls because they dug deep and didn’t let the physical win out over the mental.”
Said Mordaunt: “I feel our players did a really good job at playing disciplined. We talk as a team about the things that we can control — discipline, effort and communication. I saw a lot of good (in this tournament). We just need to fine tune it.”