After taking it on the chin in the first set Wednesday night, Manteca bounced back to win the next three and hand Lathrop a 19-25, 25-10, 25-17, 25-15 Valley Oak League volleyball loss at Winter Gym.
“They’re a good team,” Buffaloes coach Kevin Bolding said. “They came out really well, even after that first game. You can’t take anything away from them, they played tough and they made us work.
“We needed that. We needed someone to come after us and that will help us as we continue. We got better as we kept going. The defense was good after the first game and we picked up the pace.”
After the fourth tie in the opening set at 15, the Spartans (7-5 VOL, 11-9 overall) ended the game on a 10-4 run capped with a kill by Juliana Denning (six kills, block) and an ace by Krystal Tempra (27 digs).
Outside of the two matches with Oakdale, that first set was the only one Manteca has lost this season in the VOL.
“One set is great but it doesn’t get the ‘W’,” Lathrop coach Heather Anderson said. “Manteca High is a great team and we knew we had to play up and limit our errors to be able to compete with them.
“We came out and landed the first punch but we kind of fizzled after that. We had them on their heels, but it was a mental game and we didn’t hang in there.”
The Buffaloes (11-1, 20-7) rebounded in the second set, never trailing in its 25-10 win. Even in the third and fourth sets Manteca trailed by no more than three in the third and one in the fourth.
Payton Reis led the attack for the Buffaloes with 11 kills, three digs, eight service points and two aces.
“We wanted it so bad,” Reis said. “We know we can make it far if we try our hardest.
“We had to pick it up and we did.”
Manteca’s Kacy Bolding showed little ill effect from her ankle injury sustained over the weekend. She was all over the court with seven kills, five blocks, 12 assists, seven service points, three digs and an ace.
“The ankle felt good,” Kacy Bolding said. “I didn’t want to come down on it wrong but I felt like I could jump a lot better than I did on Monday night.
“Kaitlyn (Morenzone) did a good job setting the ball. Their No. 9 (Jahsita Fa’alii) did a good job of hitting but we were able to get in the right position on her.”
Morenzone had 13 assists, 10 digs, seven kills, 10 service points and two aces. Rhiannon Genilla 11 digs, five kills, 10 service points, two blocks and an ace and Emma Kadillak had eight digs and nine points.
Malia Akers had 15 digs and 10 kills for the Spartans. Fa’alii added seven kills, Karina Chavez (three kills) had 25 assists and Mary Cotton had three aces, two kills and two blocks.
Oakdale 3, Weston Ranch 1
The host Cougars (4-8, 12-11) nearly pulled off a big upset against the defending VOL champion, falling 25-20, 12-25, 24-26, 22-25.
“It was an entertaining match from start to finish,” Weston Ranch coach Eddie Menzel said. “The crowd was loud and energetic and we fed off that. The energy carried over to us and made for a very exciting match. The girls did a great job tonight of staying engaged, staying positive and having fun.”
Amaya Finley racked up 21 kills and three blocks to lead the Cougars. Judit Zamora (nine kills) and Senecia Patten (three kills, six blocks) were also effective at the net. Nayeli Moreno added 32 assists and three kills to the offense, while Allyson Bacuyani led the defense.
Kimball 3, Sierra 0
The Timberwolves (0-12, 9-15) couldn’t get over the hump in a competitive 18-25, 22-25, 23-25 sweep for Kimball (6-6, 13-14).
Hailey Steele crushed 10 kills, while Kylie Matteroli contributed five. Emma Brierly led the attack with 20 assists. Carlee Mahurin finished with six digs.
Sophomore
Manteca 2, Lathrop 0
Abi Aries had three kills and four service points for the Buffaloes in their 25-12, 25-16 win.
Kerren Zou added 11 service points and Michaela Johns had nine. Sydnee Navarro had nine assists and Raelene Finley had four kills.
Freshman
Kimball 2, Sierra 1
Sierra dropped a 20-25, 25-10, 8-15 decision in Tracy.
Brooklyn Dias and Kylie Machado (two kills) each served four aces. Jenna Villanueva pitched in two kills and two digs.
Freshman
Manteca 2, Lathrop 1
After splitting the first two sets 25-17, 18-25 the Buffaloes ran away with the third, 15-7.
Katelyn Gross had four digs, three kills and an ace for Manteca. Kyaira Jacobs added three kills and two aces and Hannah Ender had five digs and an ace.
