After coasting through the first two sets 25-12, 25-10 on Tuesday night, host East Union found itself locked in a bitter battle with visiting Lathrop in the third set.

Through six ties and two lead changes, the two teams found themselves locked in a 23-23 tie after the Spartans scored two points to tie. Melissa King came up with a kill for the Lancers followed by Haley England delivering a match-ending ace to give East Union the sweep with a 25-23 thriller in Valley Oak league action at Dalben Center.

 “I think we played really well the first two sets and we got a little too comfortable with ourselves in the third set,” Lancers coach Rich Posz said. “We didn’t play with the energy and the tempo we played in the first two sets.”

 In addition to her thrilling ace, England had 11 kills.

 “I was pretty nervous,” England said of her match-ending ace. “But I just try to keep positive thoughts.

 “There was a lot of pressure, but the serve itself felt great.”

 King also had 11 kills along with six assists. Jordyn Posz had 21 assists and four aces for East Union (1-1 VOL, 5-4 overall). Taylor Ward added nine digs and Sophie Williams six kills and three blocks.

 “We get in little spells where the other team gets us,” King said. “But we can normally pick it back up with energy from the bench. That is usually our problem solver.”

 Brittany Johnson (10 digs) had a kill from the back row to knot the score at 23 in the third set for the Spartans (0-2, 3-4).

 “That last set was probably the best we have ever played against them,” Lathrop coach Pamela Carroll-Adams said. “It was amazing.

 “I am very proud of the way the girls pulled that last set together and maybe we will get a win next time. We try, we try so hard.”

 Jay Bautista had 13 assists and nine digs for the Spartans. Karissa Kammon added seven kills and three aces and Malia Akers had three blocks.

 

Manteca 3,
Weston Ranch 0

The host Buffaloes handled the Cougars in three sets Tuesday 25-13, 25-20, 25-16 at Winter Gymnasium.

“We started out really well, on top and not in a hole,” Manteca coach Kevin Bolding said. “We kept momentum going with steady flow, showed good patience and played good defense.”

Katelyn Morenzone had 14 assist and 13 service points for the Buffaloes (2-0, 3-4). Tawny Deerinck added 13 service points, four aces and 11 digs; Payton Reis nine kills; Kacy Bolding nine assists and four kills and Taylor Bays and Melissa Hansen six digs each.

 Iris Murphy had 25 digs for Weston Ranch (6-6, 1-1). Jennifer Viguerias added 13 assists, Amaya Finley 12 kills, Janis Sanchez three blocks and two aces and Amaya Finley two aces.

 

Oakdale 3, Sierra 0

The Mustangs (7-7, 2-0) swept the host Timberwolves 25-9, 25-9, 25-14.

Genni Hammarstrom had eight digs for Sierra (0-2, 3-6). Cecilia Salcedo added 11 assists and Carolina Ortega two kills.

 

Ripon Christian 3,
 Waterford 0

 The host Knights (2-0 Southern League, 6-8) swept the Wildcats (1-1, 5-4) 25-10, 25-10, 25-14 in league action.



Sophomores

East Union 2, Lathrop 0

 Vanesa Garcia had 16 digs to lead the Lancers to the 25-21, 25-16 win.

Grace Hedin added 10 assists for East Union and Kiana Day five kills for East Union.

Myani Thornton had four kills for the Spartans. Julianna Denning chipped in three blocks and Makaela Akers two aces.



Oakdale 2, Sierra 0

Melanie Fox had seven assists and five digs and Carlee Mahurin five kills for the Timberwolves in their 17-25-17, 24-26 loss.



Manteca 2,
Weston Ranch 0

 The Cougars fell to 0-2, 2-5 with the 19-25, 23-25 loss.



Freshmen

Oakdale 2, Sierra 0

The Timberwolves pushed the Mustangs but could not close the gap in a 20-25, 19-25 loss.

Alexis Surnip has six service points and one ace for Sierra and Teresa Benham and Dulce Cruz added one kill each.



Weston Ranch 2,
Manteca 1

The Cougars (1-1, 6-1) took the tie-breaker 15-11 after splitting the first two sets 12-25, 25-22.