Sierra moved to 5-0 in Valley Oak League play Monday night with a come-from-behind five set classic victory, 20-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 15-11 over a game East Union Lancers side.
“Honestly, this match was a microcosm of our season so far,” Sierra head coach Danielle Deerinck said. “We’ve been so good at times, and not so good in others, but in the end, these girls have risen to the occasion and pulled it out when it matters the most.”
The match up against East Union (2-3, 8-6) was the third five-set victory in VOL play for Sierra (5-0, 11-6), something that should help the Timberwolves as league games get bigger, with postseason play on the horizon.
“We seem to put ourselves in these spots and then get out of them,” outside hitter Delicia Kivalu-Ahio. “It has helped us find another gear and work together as a team to take it one point at a time when our backs are against the wall.”
The Timberwolves knew they were in for a hard-fought match early on, as the energetic Lancers jumped all over them in the first set before finishing strong for a 25-20 victory in the opener. Middle blocker Isabella Martinez Lopez (nine blocks, 12 kills) set the tone for the Lancers on both sides of the net, limiting Sierra hitters from getting going while scoring critical points to push the momentum towards East Union early on.
“Isabella was our heart and soul tonight,” East Union head coach Tevani Liotard. “Those plays she made in the first set gave us an extra boost that the other girls really fed off of.”
The extra boost carried over into the second set for the Lancers as they jumped out to an 11-6 lead. It was at this point that the Timberwolves showed the resolve that had earned them previous hard-fought victories, battling back after huge swings from Kivalu-Ahio (31 kills) to even the match at 1-1, 25-23.
The roller coaster for the Timberwolves continued as the gutty Lancers cruised in the third set 25-15, forcing Sierra to the brink of suffering its first loss in league play. East Union setter Lucija Dayeh (19 assists) spread the ball around to Kennedy McLeod (8 kills) Macie Hall Anderson (9 kills), and Jedah Haywood (14 kills) to apply consistent pressure to the Sierra defense scoring points on long rallies to swing momentum back towards the visitors.
“Down 2-1 we kind of challenged them to clean up some of the things we were doing wrong and put ourselves in better positions,” Deerinck said. “I was happy with how they responded as a group.”
Senior outside hitter Hannah Threet (16 kills) propelled the Timberwolves in the fourth set jumping out to an 11-3 lead before finishing off the set 25-18 to force yet another deciding fifth for Sierra.
“Credit to them they got their big hitters going,” Liotard said. “Some of the things we were doing well early in the match, we started doing less and less of, and before you know it, a match you could have already won is in a fifth set.”
To the casual observer the final set Monday night was taken over by the junior Kivalu-Ahio. The serve receive from the Timberwolves got going and setter Hannah Dungca (29 assists) found Kivalu-Ahio for kills six times, as Sierra pulled away from what was an 8-8 tie for a 15-11 win and a 3-2 victory.
“Honestly, in those moments, I just know how hard my teammates are working to make plays, and it makes me want to play better myself,” Kivalu-Ahio said. “I got put in some good spots by my teammates and it felt really good to help us complete the comeback.”
Both East Union and Sierra will hit the road for their next matches on Wednesday, with the Lancers heading to Mountain House and Sierra heading to Modesto to take on Central Catholic.
“Hopefully, we can keep this thing going,” Deerinck said. “Try to keep doing more of the things that got us to where we are and clean up the little things and we will give ourselves the best chance to win more matches.”
Freshman
East Union 2, Sierra 1
The Lancers battled back from being down to complete a 22-25, 25-21, 15-8 victory over Sierra on Monday night. Amerilia Behler led the Lancers with six kills and two blocks, while Payton Bowers contributed four kills to go along with four assists of her own.
