The defending Redwood League champs got their 2026 league campaign off to a successful start with a hard-fought victory at Hoopa on Tuesday night.
The St. Bernard’s girls topped the Warriors in four sets, winning 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18.
Also in action on Tuesday night, the Arcata Tigers began league play with an impressive straight sets win over Eureka, while the Del Norte girls welcomed Fortuna to Crescent City and got their first league win in four sets, winning 25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 25-12.
Ferndale also opened league play against South Fork and won in straight sets.
The game between SB and Hoopa was the second this season between the two schools and the Crusaders avenged an earlier tournament loss to their league rivals.
St. Bernard’s head coach Sejay Sarti described it as a “down right scrappy and competitive match.”
“Hoopa is an incredibly well-coached team under Brittany Moore, and having faced them multiple times this season it’s been great to see their continued growth and improvement each time we meet,” Sarti said.
Scarlett Zerlang had a big night for the Crusaders and finished with 10 kills and two blocks, while teammate Brittyn Ikeya added seven kills and four aces and Sailor Storer had four blocks, three aces and a kill.
“We made some adjustments in our back-row rotations tonight, and once again I was impressed with how well our girls adapted to different roles,” Sarti said. “One of the strengths of this team is our versatility. We have so many talented athletes who are willing to step into different positions and do what’s best for the team.”
Karmen Whitecrane led the Hoopa girls with a game-high 13 kills, nine digs and two blocks, while teammate Vuunship E-Kor added 11 kills.
Luella Cosce also impressed for the home team and added 21 digs, while BellaAnn King dished out a team-best 35 assists and Naress Crawford had seven digs.
For St. Bernard’s, Samantha Sundberg added five blocks, three aces and a kill, Claira Hoffman had five aces and Natalia Williams added four aces.
“I’m proud of the way our girls continue to compete, adjust and find ways to get the job done,” Sarti said. “Matches like this challenge us in all the right ways and we’re continuing to grow as a team with every opportunity we get to step on the court.”
The Crusaders also took home a championship from the weekend Brookings tournament, where they beat rival Ferndale in the championship game.
Ferndale 3, South Fork 0
The Wildcats began league play with a straight sets win against South Fork, with the Ferndale JVs also winning their game to make it a good all-around night for the school.
Ferndale head coach SK Montiel Clark described it as “a great way to start off league play.”
The Wildcats, who have impressed in the early season with victories over Pacific League schools Del Norte and Fortuna, are considered one of the frontrunners in the race for this year’s Redwood League championship.
And on opening night they lived up to those expectations.
Senior Olivia Gossi and sophomore Macie Wantt led the way for the Cats.
“They both kept the energy up yesterday and consistently played tough,” the Ferndale coach added.
Next up, the Cats will travel to play at St. Bernard’s on Thursday night with the league lead on the line.
Del Norte 3, Fotuna 1
The Warriors got their league win on Tuesday night, beating Fortuna in four sets.
With the win, the Warriors improved to 1-1 in the Pacific League, while a young Huskies team dropped to 0-2.
“Our girls played hard,” Fortuna head coach Jacqueline Maschmeier said. “We’ve been working on getting our passing in serve receive more consistent and they started to deliver on that.”
That showed in the 22 team kills, which was a big improvement from the 13 in the team’s league opener against McKinleyville last week.
Isabella Cruz led the Huskies with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Drew Sturdevant added six kills.
Eva Bess led the visitors at the service line and finished with three aces and also had nine digs.
Quincey Sundberg also had nine digs for Fortuna, while Bailey Henderson finished with a team-high 12 assists.
“Being such a young team against some of these season heavy hitters has us talking a second to adjust, but by the end of the game hits they weren’t picking up at the beginning they were handling,” said Maschmeier, who has six freshmen on the varsity roster. “I’m proud of their effort and fight.”
Humboldt Sports has reached out to the Del Norte coaches for stats and details, but they have not responded.
