File photo – The St. Bernard’s Crusaders won their league opener this week.

The defending Little 5 champs got their league campaign off to a winning start on Thursday night.

The St. Bernard’s girls traveled to Ferndale and came away with a straight sets victory, winning 25-15, 25-9, 25-17.

Reigning league MVP Madelyn Shanahan led the Crusaders with 11 kills, while teammate Rhianna Fontenot added five kills.

Brityn Ikeya and Nina Clayton both had a good night serving for the visitors and each finished with five aces.

With the win, the Crusaders improved to 1-0 in the Little 5 and 6-11 overall.

The College of the Redwoods women also won this week.

The Corsairs traveled to Siskiyous to play a pair of pre-conference matches on Friday and split the doubleheader.

CR beat Mendocino College in four sets, rallying from an early deficit on the way to the win.

The Corsairs won 16-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-18.

Redwoods also played Los Medanos and fell in straight sets, 19-25, 18-25, 22-25.

Assistant coach Kayla Costello praised the play of libero Mandy Yoshizawa, who stepped up her game in the absence of some her teammates through injury and played six rotations.

The Corsairs are now 3-5.

CR Athletics – The Corsairs