SACRAMENTO — Lathrop took on one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s traditional volleyball powerhouses in its first postseason match Tuesday, and the No. 14 Spartans made sure to let No. 3 Christian Brothers know it was going to be in for a fight in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.
The host Falcons scrapped their way to a 15-25, 25-18, 28-26, 25-17 victory.
“With the seeding we felt like we were being underestimated a little bit,” Lathrop coach Heather Anderson said. “We came out with really high energy and with nothing to lose.”
Lathrop (14-8) served strong to start and held early leads of 9-3 and 17-8. After splitting the first two games, the Spartans was on the cusp of taking the pivotal third with two set-point situations at 24-23 and 25-24.
“It was very back and forth, we just didn’t finish when we had the opportunity,” Anderson said. “I think we scared them a little bit. We would have been in business had we taken care of the third set.”
Christian Brothers (22-11), the Capital Athletic League champion and 10-time winner of section titles, wasn’t in the clear just yet. Lathrop was ahead 10-5 early in Game 4 but couldn’t sustain it.
“We responded pretty well after losing the third set and had a decent lead,” Anderson said. “They’re a good team and they didn’t give up. After they tied it up at one point we just kind of ran out of gas.
“I think some of it too was us being a young and inexperienced team that is not playoff tested.”
Jahsita Fa’alii led the Spartans with 23 kills and seven aces. Hailey Hunter contributed five aces. Jordan Corner (11 kills), Karina Chavez (29 assists, 10 digs), Krystal Tempra (13 digs) and Avleen Kaur (five kills) played their final match for Lathrop, which enjoyed a historic season.
The Spartans finished as the runner-up in their first season in the Western Athletic Conference and nearly came away with a share of the program’s first title. Although they graduate four senior starters, a promising group of underclassmen gets elevated from the WAC champion junior varsity squad.
“Every year we strive to get a little better,” Anderson said. “This season was historical for us but we really want a league title after falling a little short. The girls are starting to see that we are capable of competing.
“Lathrop has had a reputation of not being competitive and it takes several years to change that mindset. Now that they’re seeing that success they are finally getting expectations. There has been a cultural shift, and the seniors really led the way on that.”

GOLF
Division III
ATWATER — East Union placed fourth, but no area golfers are advancing out of the SJS Division III Tournament held at Rancho Del Rey Golf Club on Monday.
Only the top two — Valley Oak League rival Oakdale (403) and Vista del Lago (451) — in the 14-team field qualified for next week’s Masters Tournament along with six individuals. Jalyn Robinson of Will C. Wood was low medalist with a 75.
Melinda Amick (90), Michelle Evan (90), Kennedy Goodnough (94), Tianna Torrice (106) and Heighlee Mosher (110) were East Union’s scorers. Manteca’s Bella Gonzales (95), Kylee Eberle (100) and Sophie Serrano (112) also competed, as did Sierra’s Bryanna Gavino (98).
The SJS finale takes place at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.

Division V
LODI — Valley Foothill League North Division co-champion Ripon ended its season Monday at Micke Grove Golf Links, taking fifth out of 11 with a 528 score.
Bear River earned the Division V title with a 435 and is the only team from the tournament moving on. Bear River’s Corina Shaw and Colfax’s Jordan Rooker were co-medalists with 82s.
Bianca Toledo carded a 95 and led Ripon with a 16th-place finish. Zoe Bremer (99), Kassidy Isham (99), Myra Toledo (102) and Mikaylah Vaught (133) rounded out the Indians’ score.
Representing Ripon Christian as individual qualifiers were Madi DeGraaf (100), Perris Larson (106) and Saylor DeAbreu (118).

TENNIS
Valley Oak League
Sierra junior Kaitlyn Rausa has reached the final round of the VOL Singles Tournament for a third straight year after opening with three straight wins on Tuesday.
She’ll look to avenge her only two league losses Thursday against Central Catholic’s Colleen Ballatore at Manteca Regional Tennis Center. The championship match will start at 10:30 a.m. The day begins with the first round of the doubles tournament at 9.
Seeded No. 2, Rausa blanked Oakdale’s Tayla Barry 8-0 and defeated former Sierra teammate Ellie Kim, now at Manteca, 6-3, 6-2. Sierra’s Nadia Petrovic upset No. 3 Julia Tang of Manteca 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals but withdrew from her matchup with Rausa.
Manteca’s Sahiba Kaur, seeded fourth, defeated Kimball’s Maxine Jaque 7-6 (3), 6-2 to reach the semifinals, where she was eliminated by Ballatore, 6-1, 6-0.  Kaur then retired from the third-place match with Petrovic due to cramping.