Manteca High still hasn’t gotten over the hump, but coach Tim Horning saw some encouraging things out of his team in a three-game loss — 19-25, 12-25, 18-25 — to Valley Oak League defending champion Sonora Thursday at Winter Gym.
The Buffaloes (0-5, 1-9 overall) didn’t hurt themselves too much with the unforced errors that have plagued them all season. In the end, however, Manteca couldn’t overcome Sonora’s superior defense and serving.
“They may not have the hitters in the past, but their passing is definitely still there,” Horning said. “We only had three hitting errors in the first two games and we were able to stay with them until we got into the later part of every game.
“They just have a couple of good servers and went on some nice runs, but we definitely played better.”
Myklyn Balmut and Jimi Guibor each slapped down five kills to lead the offense, and Jessica Reeder had 15 assists.
Dallas Mould contributed three blocks, while Abigail Rosas led the back row with 10 digs.
Manteca has a chance to notch its first league victory of the season with winless Lathrop and Kimball next.
“From what I understand, Lathrop is much improved this year and I don’t know anything about Kimball, so these are no gimmies,” Horning said.
Results from Thursday’s Lathrop-Kimball match were unavailable as of press time.
Julia Martinez posted four kills and three blocks; Jessica Saberniak contributed two kills; Samantha Morris had 12 assists; Jamie DeRosa and Nicole Magnussen turned in three digs apiece; and Ashley Gase finished with 11 service points, five of which went for aces.
The Buffaloes (0-5, 1-9 overall) didn’t hurt themselves too much with the unforced errors that have plagued them all season. In the end, however, Manteca couldn’t overcome Sonora’s superior defense and serving.
“They may not have the hitters in the past, but their passing is definitely still there,” Horning said. “We only had three hitting errors in the first two games and we were able to stay with them until we got into the later part of every game.
“They just have a couple of good servers and went on some nice runs, but we definitely played better.”
Myklyn Balmut and Jimi Guibor each slapped down five kills to lead the offense, and Jessica Reeder had 15 assists.
Dallas Mould contributed three blocks, while Abigail Rosas led the back row with 10 digs.
Manteca has a chance to notch its first league victory of the season with winless Lathrop and Kimball next.
“From what I understand, Lathrop is much improved this year and I don’t know anything about Kimball, so these are no gimmies,” Horning said.
Sonora 3, Lathrop 0
At Sonora Tuesday, Krystal Ruiz produced six kills, five blocks and had five tips go for points to spearhead the Spartans. Britney Rallios added 10 digs, and Janel Butler chimed in with 10 assists.Results from Thursday’s Lathrop-Kimball match were unavailable as of press time.
Sophomore
Sonora 2, Manteca 1
The host Buffaloes (2-3, 3-9) shook off a tough start to make Sonora work for its three-game win — 10-25, 25-23, 10-15.Sonora 2, Manteca 1
Julia Martinez posted four kills and three blocks; Jessica Saberniak contributed two kills; Samantha Morris had 12 assists; Jamie DeRosa and Nicole Magnussen turned in three digs apiece; and Ashley Gase finished with 11 service points, five of which went for aces.
