August 28, 2007

Preps Plus: Sonora's Evans tourney MVP

Sonora High School product Lindsy Evans of the Santa Clara University volleyball team was named Most Valuable Player of the Boise State Invitational in Boise, Idaho.

Evans, a 6-foot-3 sophomore outside hitter, racked up 47 kills as the 24th-ranked Broncos swept three matches.

She had a career-high 16 in a 30-21, 30-19, 30-20 victory over California State University, Fullerton; another career-high 20 in a 30-18, 30-18, 30-15 rout of Texas-San Antonio; and 11 in a 30-27, 30-26, 30-24 defeat of Boise in the de facto championship match.

Evans, junior Brittany Lowe of Yorba Linda and freshman Krista Kelley of Sandy, Utah, had eight kills in Santa Clara's final 10 points to close out the tournament.

The Broncos travel across the country to play this weekend in the Florida Invitational at the University of Florida in Gainesville — home of the reigning NCAA champions in football and men's basketball. Santa Clara will play North Carolina State, Georgia Southern and Florida.

Evans did a lot of setting for Santa Clara last season, when the Broncos qualified for the NCAA tournament. The return of all-American setter Crystal Matich of Santa Rosa prompted Evans' move to outside hitter this season.

Matich helped Santa Clara reach the NCAA Final Four in 2005, but was injured last season.

Evans played both hitter and setter while leading Sonora to undefeated Valley Oak League championships in 2004 and 2005. She committed to playing for Santa Clara before her junior year at Sonora, and then claimed league MVP honors two years in a row.

Shooting

The California Grizzlies Junior Service Rifle Team was accompanied to the National Rifle and Pistol Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio, by assistant coach Steve Finigian.

He is the Junior .22 Range Safety Officer for the Mother Lode Gun Club, where many of the Grizzlies train under head coach Robert Taylor.

One of the Grizzlies, Chad Kurgan, tied a national record set by Taylor 10 years ago.