After letting a share of the championship slip away in its final regular-season match last year, Manteca got to start its 2026 Valley Oak League run against the team that spoiled that opportunity.
Led by third-year outside hitter Jesus Gomez, the balanced Buffaloes held off a strong effort from visiting rival Sierra on Monday, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22.
“They came in with the energy of a rival team,” Gomez said. “They showed out and were in high spirits, so we had to bounce back. It happens. We started off slow, but we got better. It’s still early in the year, and we’re slowly getting better, but I see the progress and there’s a lot to be excited about.”
Gomez tallied seven of his match-high 17 kills in the final set. He also had four aces and five digs.
Middle blocker Rob Hevener contributed nine kills and five blocks for Manteca (1-0 VOL, 7-2 overall).
Logan Romriell also had nine kills to go with four digs and three assists. Chase Cheng added six kills and two blocks.
“We’re just deep,” Manteca coach Jenny Reis said. “We have a lot of weapons that we could choose from, and it keeps teams on their heels, because we can set any position at anytime.”
Both Reis and Gomez lauded freshman setter Chandler Harris, who has replaced three-year standout Mark Bondoc at the position. He finished with 34 assists, two kills and eight digs. Drew Woodruff led the back row with 14 digs.
“After losing our starting setter, Chandler Harris has to come in as a freshman and do what he’s doing — it’s awesome,” Gomez said. “It’s going to take some more time to adjust, but I’m loving it. He’s doing so great.”
With just one senior on the roster, the youthful Timberwolves (0-1, 4-2) also have reason to feel encouraged despite the result of their league opener. They were competitive in every set, but unforced errors mounted during inopportune times.
“I feel like we had a lot of hitting errors,” Sierra coach Danielle Deerinck said. “We weren’t swinging to our full potential. They did have a really good block on their side, so I think that we didn’t adapt to that fast enough.”
It didn’t help that the T’wolves top hitter was playing through a sore back. Junior Ole Schmidt was still their co-leader in kills with 10. Thinh Huynh also pounded out 10 kills, while middle blocker Ayden Bryant pitched in with eight kills and four blocks.
Toan Do distributed 32 assists while registering three kills and five digs. Manolo Asuncion anchored the defense with 24 digs.
“I think we still have a great season ahead of us,” Deerinck said.
Sierra will look to bounce back Wednesday when Central Catholic visits, while the Buffaloes takes on Ripon Christian for a challenging non-league clash tonight at home.
