Lathrop went to its star outside hitter early and often, but Manteca was ready for it at the start of their non-league match Tuesday at Greg Leland Gym.
The Buffaloes defended a barrage of attacks from Gabriel Fa’ali’i and scored the first three points of the match.
Undeterred, the two-time All-Sac-Joaquin Section first-team selection kept swinging away, leading his team to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 sweep that may provide a boost in Lathrop’s postseason position down the road.
Fa’ali’i said there were no adjustments made to get the Spartans’ offense untracked.
“It was more of just, don’t be scared to swing away,” he said. “After some of those digs, I kind of got in my head a little bit, but I had to remember what I’ve worked on from the club season and playing against all those big teams. That always helps remind me that I can play with these big kids. So, whenever they keep digging me, all I gotta do is just keep swinging, and eventually it’ll go down.”
He led all players with 21 kills, to go with five digs and a solo block.
Manteca was competitive for much of the first two sets, but Fa’ali’i and the Spartans came up with the key plays down the stretch. Fa’ali’i scored two of the last four points with kills in the opening set, which ended with a 5-1 Lathrop run. The Spartans ended game 2 on a 6-1 barrage, then scored eight unanswered points — which included four kills from Fa’ali’i — in the third to take a commanding 18-9 lead.
“I think we had a few tough rallies that we lost, and he puts pressure on you,” Manteca coach Jen Reis said. “He’s such a good player and has been all four years. I just think we had a few plays that lost momentum and kind of snowballed. I’m disappointed, because we haven’t had very many matches like that this year.”
Emerging freshman Lorenzo Palomares contributed eight kills and a solo block for the Spartans, and setter Jorge Reyes amassed 32 assists, two aces, 13 service points and four digs. Jayden White pitched in with four kills and eight digs. Freshman defensive specialist Andreis Ricaldo racked up a team-high 10 digs.
The Buffaloes countered with Dennen Loureiro’s nine kills. Logan Romriell added six kills, two blocks and five digs. Freshman setter Chandler Harris produced 17 assists and seven digs.
Both teams are bound for the playoffs, but not with the lineups they had envisioned at the start of the season. Lathrop (23-6) has proven front-row players who are ineligible for the entire campaign, while Manteca (20-6) recently lost its best player — third-year senior outside hitter Jesus Gomez — to a season-ending injury.
“We were definitely hoping that we would have a better showing against another playoff team,” Reis said. “Right now, we’re adjusting to life without Jesus. We need some guys to step up.”
Lathrop previously downed the Buffs in a best-of-three tournament match in February but came into the rematch lower in the MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section rankings. The Spartans, currently No. 2 in Division III, are ranked 26th overall, while Manteca is 15th. The SJS uses MaxPreps rankings to help determine playoff seedings.
“I know they’re missing Jesus, but Manteca is always competitive,” Lathrop coach Toa Fa’ali’i said. “I’m glad we got to play them before going into the playoffs. This can be a confidence booster for us, and hopefully it helps our ranking.”
His Spartans round out regular-season play tonight at home against Johansen. They’ll end up third in the Western Athletic Conference. Meanwhile, Manteca welcomes Oakdale for its Valley Oak League finale. The Buffaloes are runners-up behind Mountain House for a second straight year.
Junior varsity
Lathrop 2, Manteca 0
Cristian Loyola tallied 10 kills and three aces to lead Lathrop to the 25-17, 25-23 sweep.
Steven Pughsley contributed six kills, and Jaime Leon handed out 16 assists.
Quintin DeCosta Aldape paced the Manteca front line with four kills and a block, Hergunn Kang had seven assists and Ryan Mu netted nine digs.
