An electric atmosphere at Dalben Center on Wednesday night energized East Union and pushed Sierra back on its heels, as the Lancers picked up their first Valley Oak League win behind the hot hand of freshman Savannah LeBarre with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-14 sweep.

LeBarre scorched the Timberwolves (0-6 VOL, 7-7 overall) nearly getting a triple-double, notching 18 digs, 11 kills and seven aces. 

“I did way better with this crowd here tonight,” LeBarre said. “The crowd really excited me.

“The setters did really well. We have been working a lot together and they did really well.” 

With the score tied 15-15 in the first set, LeBarre hammered a kill and then took to the service line and finished the game on a 9-0 service run behind three aces.

“The girls were jazzed,” East Union coach Chelsea Herrera said. “She (Lebarre) has been hurt for the last week and a half and she just came back from an injury. She is a big part of our team and when she comes back it just brings a lot of energy.

“And our setters were on fire. They put it exactly where it needed to be and that was the difference. They came out pumped up and ready to play.”

Grace Hedin had 16 assists for the Lancers (1-5, 2-9), and Angelica Mercado added nine assists. The East Union attack cranked out 34 kills to just 15 for Sierra.

Kiana Day joined Lebarre with 11 kills and had an ace.

“The net play is a lot of fun,” Day said. “We have been practicing hitting a lot.

“We are having a lot of fun together and it is definitely fun coming out and getting the ‘W’ in three games.”

Ragan Fowzer added four kills, three aces and three blocks for East Union with Jaidyn Valencia chipping in four blocks, three aces and two kills.

Hailey Steele had five kills for Sierra and Lindsey Walljasper four for the lion’s share of the Timberwolves attack. Emma Brierly added three aces. 

“I think that the crowd got in our heads,” Timberwolves coach Trinity Johnson said. “We came out and wanted it, we were hungry, but they were just a little bit hungrier than us and that showed on the court.

“This was kind of an eye-opener for our girls. They have never played in an atmosphere like this where the crowd was in your face. Again, that kind of got into our heads a little bit and once again, we have learned something else we need to work on so that if we face this in the future we will be ready.”

Sophomore

Sierra 2, East Union 0

With the Timberwolves leading 23-18 in the second set, Ashlee Matteroli buried two consecutive aces to cement the win for Sierra after the Timberwolves won the first game 25-22.

Alexis Flores had four aces and a kill for Sierra and Natalie Dias added two aces, two kills and two blocks.

Sam Snyder set well for the Lancers while teammate Miekayla Surnip aggressively patrolled the net.  

Freshman

Sierra 2, East Union 1

The two teams split the first sets with identical scores of 25-20 before the Timberwolves took the third 15-7.

The setters worked super hard for Sierra. Inessa Villanueva had seven kills, three aces and a block for the Timberwolves while Chloe Sabado added four aces and two kills and Allison Threet had two aces and a kill.

Danielle James paced the Lancers with four assists, two aces and two kills. Nicole Blair chipped in four aces, two assists and a kill and Julieanna Padilla had three kills.