After Manteca forced a game five Friday against visiting Ripon Christian, Garrison Reis led the Buffaloes out of the gate in the final set.
Reis tallied the first three Manteca points on a pair of kills and a block and later added an ace, as the Buffaloes ran away with the final game 15-5 after splitting the first four 25-22, 22-25, 18-25, 25-17 in non-league boys volleyball action.
“Sometimes you have to come in clutch and make big-time plays,” Reis said. “That’s what I try to do, is make those plays.”
Cedrick Maglinao was a crowd favorite for the Buffaloes (18-3). Every time he served or touched the ball, the home-town bleachers went nuts. He finished with 11 digs and two aces.
“It was amazing,” Maglinao said. “The energy in the gym was through the roof.
“Even though it took us a couple of sets to push through, we still pushed through. It was our night.”
Julio Mateo paced the Manteca attack with 19 kills.
“We ended up playing really well,” Mateo said. “We were struggling but we pulled it together.
“I am happy that my setter and I connected and I started to swing out.”
Mark Bondoc helped direct the Buffaloes game with 43 assists and 20 digs. Reis tallied 14 digs and 10 kills, Jesus Gomez added 17 digs and eight kills and Aidan Patton chipped in nine kills.
“It was a great match,” Manteca coach Jennifer Reis said. “Ripon Christian is always playoff caliber. You knew it was going to be a really good match and this is a good way to end our season and get ready for playoffs.
“I am super happy for Julio (Mateo) on the outside to have the game he had. That was his best game this year.”
Knights coach Kevin Tameling anticipated a five-set match.
“It was a good game,” Tameling said. “I told the team before the match that it was probably going to go five sets. I wish it didn’t, I would have liked to ended it after four. They are a great, well-balanced team that is senior heavy with great leadership.
Tameling’s son Mason was dominating for Ripon Christian (16-7) with 22 kills. He scored five of the last seven points for the Knights in the second set they won 25-18 and he totaled five back-row kills on the night.
“It is a lot of fun to coach Mason,” Coach Tameling said. “He is only a sophomore, so he makes some mistakes every once and awhile, but this year he has come alive in some big matches and has shown up big.
“He pushes himself so hard in the weight room, in preparation and even being young he is a great leader on the court. He is positive and I was actually impressed with his defense tonight.”
Ripon Christian’s Joel Hendricks (six digs) tallied 31 assists and Preston Zuidervaart added 29 assists. Isaiah Vander Woude chipped in 11 kills, Darren Van Groningen nine Kills and Zachary Varni seven kills and four digs.
On Monday at 6 p.m. the Buffaloes host Oakdale and the Knights host Orestimba.
