When Manteca’s Kyle Reis goes on a roll, he goes on a roll.
After splitting the first two games with visiting Ceres on Tuesday, Reis stepped up to the service line and did not step away for 15 points behind two of his three aces as the Buffaloes took the third set and then the fourth to picked up an 18-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-23 non-league boys volleyball game at Winter Gym.
“I don’t know why I get the long service runs,” Reis said. “Last game I had one to 20.
“For some reason, sometimes teams just don’t return my serves well. They get down and we get points and it helps the team out.”
Tydus Verhoeven (six kills, four blocks) came up big for Manteca (2-2) to close out the second and fourth sets. After the Bulldogs narrowed the gap from 24-20 to 24-24 in the second game, Verhoeven had a kill and a block to close out the set.
The fourth set was tied nine times, including at 22-22. The Buffaloes were leading 24-23 when Verhoeven got the match-ending kill.
“It’s been a quick transition,” Verhoeven said of the change from basketball to volleyball. “It’s been really fast but this group of guys is really helping me out. Coach (Kevin) Bolding is a great coach and this is getting progressively faster, and I am trying to improve as much as I can every day.”
Kylan Chandler carried the lion’s share of the load for Manteca, pounding out 16 kills and four blocks.
“Our setters set me a lot,” Chandler said. “I saw that their blockers were off so I had a lot of opportunities to put the ball down.”
Cameron Reis (block) and Oswaldo Garcia (two aces) had four kills apiece for the Buffaloes and Jonathan Borres added three kills and two blocks.
“These guys hang tough,” Bolding said. “They are a good group and they love playing – for a first-year sport, what more can I ask? But I told these guys it’s not about scoring points, but doing it the right way.
“We hung tough and we didn’t get down and that’s the good part about these guys is there is no quit in them. We have been down this year and they just keep coming.
Ceres (3-3) scored the final five points of the first match including the last four by ace for the 25-18 win.
“We’re still figuring things out,” Bulldogs coach Darlene Tobler said. “We have lost a lot of key players so communication can improve for us for sure. I have a lot of faith in my team and I think they’ll come along and get stronger every single day that we play together.
“I saw a lot of improvement in Manteca since the last time we played them. It looks like they have a few extra players, maybe from the basketball team. They did a very good job.”