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By Ray Hamill — When it comes to JV volleyball here on the North Coast, no school can match the success of the Arcata Tigers in recent years.

Last week, the young Arcata players wrapped up another big campaign with another league title.

After going perfect in the Big 5 in each of the past three seasons, the Tigers finished 7-1 on the way to clinching this year’s championship.

And they did it with a balanced lineup and a group of players that have learned how to play for one another.

“I really love how supportive they are of each other,” first-year head coach Lola Renteria said. “The Arcata High volleyball program really emphasizes a positive team culture, and they embodied that. It was a really great group of players.”

This year’s team included Trinity Circosta, Lily White, Ilya Kelly, Cassidy O’Dowd, Ellie White, Alysse Gildea, Coco Low, Amara Champ, Kamplyn Mohrmann, Seryn Ballew, Kaia Cristobal, Lily Stoffers, Cadence Fitzmaurice and Lily d’Usseau.

The Tigers’ only loss in conference play came against Del Norte.

“We were really solid overall,” Renteria said. “We had some good servers on the team, which definitely helped.”

The Arcata coach encouraged her players to take swings when the opportunity arose, and the players responded, something she feels was a big part of the team success.

“I thought we did a great job staying aggressive,” she said.

The young Tigers also won this year’s annual Arcata invitational tournament in September.

One of the things that impressed the new coach about her players is how they improved as a team as the season progressed.

And she added that she very much enjoyed being their coach.

“It was my first season coaching. It was definitely a new experience,” Renteria said. “I really enjoyed it. It was was super encouraging seeing them improve. It was a really fun season.”