GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The 2023 Gridley girls’ volleyball team comes into a new season with the same goal of being in contention for a Butte View League title as they have been close in past years, but have not been able to solely grab the top spot.

Gridley has finished the last two seasons in the third spot in the BVL standings under head coach Liz Ayon, who is entering her fourth season atop the program.

Ayon expressed to the Herald that it is always going to be a goal to win the BVL title and strive to bring the first one back to the school since it last shared a BVL title with Sutter and Orland in the 2014 season. Ayon told the Herald this offseason was focused more on the passing and back row defense.

“If you can’t pass, you can’t set, and you can’t finally score,” Ayon said.

The Lady Bulldogs were knocked out in the second round of the 2022 CIF Northern Section Division III playoffs by BVL foe, Orland in four sets. Gridley brings back a good part of the 2022 roster and new voices in the leadership position that Ayon will look upon to lead the charge this season.

With the one of the main focuses in the offseason being the back row defense, it all begins with 2024 libero Giselle Fuentes in the back row. This will be Fuente’s second season at the varsity level, and she made an impact on the team last season by having the second most assists on the team with 243. Fuentes also had 113 digs.

Fuentes told the Herald that her and fellow returning Lady Bulldogs want to build the team and bring the younger players along with the team being all together.

“All of the returners have a strong sisterhood bond, and we want to bring the new girls into that,” Fuentes said. The confident libero added that her and the fellow returning leaders are on the same page and ready to lift someone up when needed.

2025 middle blocker/outside hitter Charlee Sormano told the Herald that playing club in the offseason and different level of competitive teams she saw in the Sacramento and Redding area benefited in the preparation for this upcoming season.

“Some of the teams I saw in club were great competition that helped prepare me for the upcoming season,” Sormano told the Herald. She added that some of the competition were teams comprised of athletes from bigger schools which adds to better competition overall. Sormano was second on the team last season in kills with 147 on the year and had 102 digs.

2024 middle hitter Gracie Dewsnup told the Herald she worked on becoming the best middle hitter in the offseason along with building up the energy of the team because keeping everyone’s spirits up is a huge part of volleyball.

Dewsnup added that she also learned a lot from Gridley 2023 alumna middle hitter Kennison Cota, who is now starting her collegiate career at Feather River College. On top of keeping her energy up and having fun on the court, Dewsnup told the Herald that she also learned how other tips at the position of middle hitter.

Dewsnup had 139 kills, 56 kills and 24 digs last season. She said the goal for the team as a whole is to make it farther than last season’s second round exit and beat some of their rivals.

The schedule the Lady Bulldogs assembled this season is tough as you can imagine. The preseason schedule Gridley has includes their first three matches of the season against teams that made the playoffs in 2022 as they travel to East Nicolaus, Colusa and Durham.

The Lady Bulldogs won’t host a game in Farmers Hall until September 6, when they play Marysville after the conclusion of the 2023 Butte County Fair. The biggest preseason game at home will be on September 24, when the Lady Bulldogs host University Prep of Redding, who was the number one ranked team in the Northern Section at the conclusion of the 2022 fall season.

Ayon said she is excited for the opportunity to play two of the top teams in the Northern Section. On top of their competitive preseason, the Lady Bulldogs will be participating in a couple of tournaments such as the Dixon High School tournament and the Chico tournament. Gridley opens their season on Thursday, August 17 on the road at Colusa.