Robin Chandler’s Manteca volleyball team came into Thursday night’s matchup against cross-town rival East Union needing a win in order to go into senior night with their Valley Oak League title hopes still alive.

Like they have for most of the season, the Buffaloes answered the bell against East Union in the form of a dominant 25-12, 25-7, 25-8 straight set victory to set up a rematch with the Oakdale Mustangs next Tuesday night for a share of the league crown.

“I was really happy with how we came out tonight,” Chandler said. “There is never any extra motivation needed when playing East Union, but we came out strong and never let our foot off the gas from start to finish.”

Manteca (9-2, 15-8) got going early, getting strong play at the net by outside hitters Taimane Tu’uga and Saniyah Anthony. Tu’uga recorded four of her team high 14 kills in the match in the opener, while Anthony racked up five of her own to propel the hosts to a 25-12 first set victory.

“Taimane really brought it for us early and often,” Chandler said. “She’s always so good at the net, but she served more consistently than she has all season, and it really gave us a boost in all three sets.”

The Lancers (3-8, 8-19) struggled to return the serve of Tu’uga, and the Buffaloes throughout the entire match. In the second set, East Union found themselves down just 7-4 early thanks to kills by Shebra Rezaye and Macie Hall-Anderson. After a kill from Talia Shellbourne (seven kills), the Buffaloes went on a 10-1 run that included three aces from Ariceli McBroom and five from Tu’uga. Manteca ended the match with 18 total service aces, led by Tu’uga who had nine herself. The onslaught helped Manteca pull away to a 25-7 win to go up 2-0.

“They put the ball in some really good spots but we have to be better,” Lancers coach Tevani Liotard said. “We’ve returned serves like those tonight all season long, but for whatever reason, we couldn’t tonight.”

The depth of Manteca’s hitters was on full display throughout the match as five Buffaloes finished with three kills or more. The Buffaloe’s hitters were put in good spots all night long by the combination of senior setters Riley Ward (13 assists) and Gracey Green (19 assists). The duo managed to keep the Lancers on their toes for most of the night, including in the finale that saw Manteca jump out to a 23-3 lead before finishing off the straight set win, 25-8.

“You could tell they were having fun out there,” Chandler said. “Obviously, we are very skilled up front, but our setters have to make good decisions and put the ball in good spots for us to succeed like we did tonight.”

The Buffaloes will need a repeat of Thursday’s complete performance next Tuesday night against first place Oakdale, who dealt Manteca one of its two league losses 3-1 back on September 25.

“We just need to lock in and focus on fundamentals against a good team,” Ward said. “It’s our senior night, and we know the atmosphere our fans will be great, so I am confident we will come out and play well.”

For East Union, a disappointing season will wrap up also on Tuesday with a trip across town to Sierra.