The Sierra Timberwolves snapped a two-game Valley Oak League losing streak Wednesday night, picking up a key victory in straight sets over cross-town rival East Union, 25-17, 25-22, 25-18 at the Dalben Center.
“I challenged these girls to get this thing back on track,” Sierra head coach Danielle Deerinck said. “We had a couple of tough games, but the league title is still right there for us to go get, and I was happy with how they responded tonight.”
Sierra (8-2 VOL, 16-10 overall) jumped out to a 7-0 record in league play before back-to-back losses to Manteca and Mountain House put the Timberwolves in a tie atop the VOL standings with the Buffaloes.
In their way getting things back on track was a very game East Union (3-8, 11-13) team that forced five sets with Sierra when they met back on Sept. 21.
“We knew coming in they were a tough team,” senior outside hitter Hannah Threet said. “But we also knew what was in front of us, and for the seniors, we want to go out with a league title and a playoff run.”
Threet (13 kills) and fellow outside hitter Delicia Kivalu-Ahio (17 kills) helped to get Sierra going in the first set racking up four kills each en route to a 25-17 first set win. In what would become a theme on the night, the Lancers would battle back with mini runs after falling behind before the standout outside hitters would help the Timberwolves pull away.
“That’s kind of been the story of our season,” East Union head coach Tevani Liotard said. “We’ve played so many competitive sets and matches and just can’t seem to finish the job when we get the on their heels.”
Led by Jedah Haywood (seven kills) and Lucija Dayeh (six kills), East Union jumped out to a 14-9 lead and looked to make it another classic between the two teams if they could manage to secure the second set. Kivalu-Ahio and the Timberwolves had other ideas, however. After Deerinck called a timeout to talk it over, Sierra responded by scoring seven consecutive points including three aces by Threet to take control of the set. The Timberwolves would go on to take the set 25-22 after a Jadelyn Dole ace pushed the lead to 2-0.
“In those moments, it’s just important to remind them to get back to basics, Deerinck said. “Things kind of start to unravel and it feels like we can't do anything right, so during the timeout, it’s just reiterating that we’ve done a lot right to get to where we are and to get back to it.”
The difference in the match was Sierra’s ability to get its hitters both outside and in the middle in positions to make plays. Setters Hannah Dungca and Danett Cesante spread the ball around effectively keeping Lancer defenders at the net at bay for the most part. Four different Timberwolves were on the end of Dungca and Cesante passes in the fourth set to secure kills propelling Sierra to a 25-18 victory competing the 3-0 sweep.
“We’ve come a long way in the chemistry we have with our setters,” Threet said. “They do a great job putting us in good spots and keeping the defense guessing which was a huge part of the win tonight.”
Sierra has two more league matches remaining, while Manteca has one. If both teams win out, the two cross-town rivals will share the VOL crown.
“We just need to focus on what we can control,” Deerinck said. “If we win these next two, we’ll have accomplished one of our goals we set out to at the beginning of the year.”
Both Sierra and East Union will get back in action on Monday. Sierra will host Central Catholic, while East Union will be back at the Dalben Center to wrap up league play against Mountain House.
