TEMECULA — Change is never easy.

That’s a lesson that both Rancho Christian girls volleyball coach Caitlyn Bato and her team have learned during a 2024 regular season, one that ended Tuesday night with an Ivy League championship after the Eagles defeated rival Paloma Valley 28-26, 21-25, 29-27, 25-15.

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Rancho Christian’s Sophia Duguid hits the ball against Paloma Valley’s Lauren Kendall and Deziree Garcia in an Ivy League volleyball game on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

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“All I knew when I got here was that a group of girls needed someone who believed in them,” said Bato, who took over the program a few weeks into the season. “I was serving as a graduate assistant at Concordia and substitute teaching when the opportunity came up, and it was God’s will for me to come here and be that coach for these ladies.”

Paloma Valley (19-7overall, 7-3 in league) jumped out to early leads in the first and third sets but could not hold on.

In the opening set, the Wildcats grabbed a 10-5 lead after a pair of early kills from Baylie Moore and an ace from Lara Martinez. Behind an ace from Ashley Bosich and a kill by Janiah Burrage, Rancho Christian leveled the set at 14. Madi Pulsipher had a kill and solo block while Aubrey Tobias chipped in an ace as the Eagles grabbed set point at 24-22. Moore and Paige Gurganious had kills that saved set points for Paloma Valley.

Brighton Richards’ ace gave Rancho Christian another last set point that Paloma Valley couldn’t stave off as a Wildcat attack error ended the set.

Moore’s kill off an overpass plus a ball-handling error by the Eagles gave Paloma Valley a 13-10 lead halfway through set two. Rancho Christian then leveled the set at 13 after a kill and solo block from Mollie Tuten. However, Paloma Valley closed the set on a 5-1 run, sparked by a Grace Liesemeyer ace along with kills from Moore and Bethany Lowe to even the match.

Suzy Kemle had a pair of kills in a four-point stretch as Rancho Christian jumped to an 11-6 lead in the third set. Down 20-15 after a Kemle ace, Paloma Valley went on an 8-3 run to level the set at 23. Martinez had three kills and a block, and the Wildcats had a set point at 24-23 that Rancho Christian was able to spoil. Burrage’s kill on a roll shot out of the back row gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead after a second deuce set win.

“Matches like this come down to who is able to lock in mentally in those key moments and that’s how we were able to rally for wins in sets one and three,” Burrage said.


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