Placer rolls past Twelve Bridges in straight sets

The Placer High School girls volleyball team continued its strong start to Foothill Valley League play Tuesday night, defeating Twelve Bridges 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-20) in Lincoln. After winning just two matches in nonleague play, the Hillgals are now 3-2 in the FVL, and head coach Karly Sipherd-Smith believes the team is still on the rise. Placer (5-11 overall) leaned on its strong defense to secure the victory, overcoming some early struggles receiving serves with long rallies that wore down the Raging Rhinos (3-9, 0-4). The Hillgals trailed early in set one but seized control with a 7-2 mid-set run. In sets two and three, Placer built sizable leads and held off late pushes from Twelve Bridges to close out the match. Sipherd-Smith highlighted her team's defensive effort. "Obviously, as you saw in non-league, we had to go through it. They had to show their resilience because building that resilience and chemistry gets us to where we want to show it in league and they're doing that. I'm really happy with their all-around play right now." Twelve Bridges coach Morghan Pomeroy acknowledged the team's struggles but expressed confidence in their talent. "The message moving forward from this is being able to focus on our mental toughness. That's our biggest thing. Talent-wise, I honestly feel like we're probably one of the best teams in the league," Pomeroy said. "I think our biggest issue is just knowing what's going on between our ears and being able to capitalize on that and not let small things get to us." Placer's depth was on full display, with Sipherd-Smith rotating players frequently to demonstrate that any group of six can succeed. "They are just such a fun group," Sipherd-Smith said. "Any night I can put any of these 15 girls in and they can win games for us. That's how deep we are in energy, commitment, and desire to be devoted to this team." She also noted the team's motivation comes from contributing in any role and following through with that commitment on the court and from the bench. Placer lost to Yuba City 3-2 on Thursday night.