Manteca was without its top outside hitter and a contributing opposite hitter on Tuesday when the first-place Buffaloes visited intra-city rival East Union for a Valley Oak League match.
They were also working in a new setter, who played her first match with Manteca after transferring from out of state.
Manteca battled through some nervous moments and wound up sweeping the Valley Oak League match, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15.
“I thought East Union did a really good job,” Manteca coach Robin Chandler said. “They didn’t let a lot of balls drop, they had some good swings and I feel like it was good competition. I’m proud of my girls for pulling through.”
Multiple players stepped up to make up for the absence of standout outside Taimane Tu’uga, who is nursing a sprained ankle. Saniyah Anthony and Trinity Todd led the attack with 11 kills apiece, Ariceli McBroom added eight and Talia Shellbourne had five. They were also key on defense, as Anthony picked up eight digs, Todd recorded five blocks, McBroom, collected a team-high 15 digs, and Anthony contributed eight digs and a block.
Riley Ward handed out 20 digs while chipping in three digs to the defense. She split setting duties with newcomer Gracey Green, a senior who moved from Utah. Green tallied 12 assists, eight digs, two blocks and three service aces.
“We were trying to get a rhythm going with (Green),” Chandler said. “Riley is still our setter, but we’re trying out different rotations.”
With two regulars out and a newcomer debuting, Manteca (5-0 VOL, 8-5 overall) did struggle with consistency throughout. The Buffaloes did lead wire-to-wire in the opening set, scoring eight unanswered points — a run highlighted by three kills and a solo stuff from Todd — for a 19-8 advantage.
East Union (1-4, 6-12) made things interesting by staving off game point while on a 7-0 run. McBroom finally put it away for Manteca with a kill.
The Lancers were at their best for half of the second game, rolling to a 15-9 lead. Manteca came back to tie at 17-17 it on a kill from Anthony, then captured the lead for good thanks to a combined block from Green and Todd.
Game 3 was also competitive for a spell, until the Buffaloes gained separation with an 11-3 run.
“It was nice to see us compete,” East Union coach Tevani Liotard said. “Manteca is a good, solid team and they pick up everything, but tonight, we were able to compete. You can when we had them worried a little bit. It was good volleyball tonight.”
The Lancers were led by Lucija Dayeh’s 10 assists, three kills and two aces. Freshman Macie Hall-Anderson paced the attack with seven kills. Lilyan Frye contributed five assists.
East Union welcomes its other rival Sierra on Thursday, while Manteca travels to Oakdale.
Junior varsity
East Union 2, Manteca 0
The first-place Lancers held on for the 25-18, 25-21 sweep.
Emily Pires spearheaded the attack with 11 assists and six aces. Camilla Christensen collected three kills and three digs. Elle Baluyut chipped in with three assists and six digs. Kadence Rossi clobbered seven kills.
Freshman
East Union 2, Manteca 0
The Lancers swept behind Jesabel Teran’s four kills, while Addie Souza and Janelle Lopez added three apiece. Sophia Quezada delivered seven assists.
