Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The defending Little 4 champs are well on track to secure another conference championship.

On Tuesday night, the Crusaders welcomed Hoopa Valley to St. Bernard’s and won for the third time in three conference games, and they have now swept L4 games against all three of their conference rivals.

This hosts won 25-13, 25-23, 25-18.

And they secured the victory with big nights from a freshman and a senior.

Senior Kyla Maples, according to head coach Sejay Sarti, “came to play” and finished the game with five aces, four kills and a pair of blocks.

Freshman Lulu Vainuku also impressed with her all-around game and added two aces and a kill, while junior Serafina Morgan led the team defense with some big digs in the back row.

Hoopa, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 in conference play.

The Warriors were led by impressive freshman Vuunsip E-Kor, who is enjoying a good debut high school campaign and had a co-team-high five kills, as did junior Wau’Kel Blake.

Luella Cocse also impressed for the visitors and finished with a team-high four aces, while Taelyr Lewis-Tracy had three aces.

“The Warriors’ jump serves are difficult to return,” Sarti said. “It keeps them present in the game.”

Cosce also had a team-high nine digs, while Karmen Whitecrane, Tylie McKinnon and E-Kor each added five digs.

Also in Little 4 action on Tuesday night, Ferndale improved to 2-1 in conference play with a 25-21, 25-16, 25-23 win over South Fork.

In JV action, St. Bernard’s defeated Hoopa in three sets, winning 25-18, 22-25, 15-12.