LATHROP — The two best volleyball teams in the Western Athletic Conference squared off Wednesday night at Lathrop High and when the match was over Beyer retained its grip on first place with a 25-21, 25-22, 13-25, 25-21 win over second-place Lathrop.
“We came out ready to fight,” Spartans coach Toa Fa’ali’i said. “But all the credit goes to Beyer. They came out and dominated us.
“In the third set we made some changes and it worked out, but it didn’t continue to work out.”
It was senior night for the Spartans (7-2 WAC, 9-5 overall) and third year varsity senior Krystle Sakay (13 digs, eight kills, two assists) helped Lathrop to a third-set win with three kills in that game.
“Honestly, this was kind of crazy,” Sakay said. “Because of the pandemic, I was wondering if there was even going to be a season to have a senior night for.
“It was pretty exciting. Even though we lost, it was a good match.”
Other senior standouts for the Spartans were Lylliana Avila (14 digs, ace), Irais Elias-Martinez (nine digs, three aces), Thracylie Acoba (13 digs, two aces, kill), Sydney Hanks (five kills), LaNicia Ellis (seven kills) and Alejandra Vasquez (16 assists). Alaba Olaleye added six kills and Camila De La Graza dished out seven assists.
Patriots coach Melinda Freeman knew that a win by Beyer (9-0, 15-2) would put the Patriots in great position for the stretch run.
“We came in knowing we had to beat this team,” Freeman said. “They only had the one loss to us previously and for us to be able to win league we knew we had to take care of business.
“We lost our focus in that third game. They started questioning themselves and looking at each other and not taking control like they normally would, and that just dismantled us.”
Raena Sharp led Beyer with six kills and libero Courtney Diener added 11 digs and four back-row kills.
“She is actually a good back-row hitter,” Freeman said of Diener. “Whether it was because of a missed pass or something else, luckily we were able to set her and she was able to capitalize on her ability to hit from the back row.”
Junior varsity
Lathrop 2, Beyer 0
Elizabeth Jade-Andrade helped the Spartans roll to a 25-14, 25-12 win with seven kills, four digs and an ace.
Lathrop’s Julian Roaquin dished out 14 assists with Celeste Navarro getting six digs and an ace, Janessa Ward tallied four kills and three digs and Lilianna Navarro hammered out three aces.
Freshman
Lathrop 2, Beyer 0
It took a balanced attack tor the Spartans to eke out a 25-20, 27-25 win.
Annie Milan led Lathrop with three aces two kills and a dig followed by Alyssa Roller (eight assists, two aces), Annabelle Obasuyi (two kills), Genesis Contreras and Layla Sprayberry (two digs apiece) and Jade Oliver, Zoe Cejas (dig) and Sara Valadez (two aces each).
