Coming off a three-set loss to a powerhouse, Sierra opened Valley Oak League play Thursday against reigning two-time champion Central Catholic.

The visiting Raiders dominated the opening set but ended up squeaking out a five-game slugfest, 25-14, 20-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-13.

Czyleah Pabustan locked down the win for Central Catholic (1-0 VOL, 2-4 overall) with a well-placed tip down the left line. Sierra (0-1, 3-5) led 9-7 after a kill from Delicia Kivalu-Ahio, but the Raiders rallied for five unanswered points.

Facing match point, the Timberwolves made one final push to stay in the fight, getting kills from Luna Lopez and Hannah Threet before Pabustan’s delivered the clincher.

Despite the frustrating end, Sierra didn’t go away feeling discouraged.

“It was a tough match. I definitely think we could have won, but that’s perfectly fine,” senior libero Amari Currey said. “We’re smart enough to know what to do coming out of two big games in a row in one week, and we’ll keep working hard in practice. Everybody was playing smooth, and it was very fun. We’ll just learn from it for the rest of the season. Hopefully, we we’ll get them next time.”

Sierra was swept by Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champion Ripon just two days prior, but the experience helped prepare the T’wolves for their league opener.

They had strong back-row play against Central Catholic, with veteran defensive specialist Ellis Denny leading the way with 16 digs. Currey added 12 digs, and Rachael Dole came up big as a late substitute, serving three aces in the fourth set while finishing with four digs.

The front row matched the power from Central Catholic’s the senior outside hitting tandem of Alyssa Thomas (15 kills) and Pabustan (16 kills) and sophomore middle Sophia Perino (seven kills, two blocks).

Kivalu-Ahio and Threet spearheaded the attack with 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Middle blocker Lopez amassed five kills and eight solo blocks. Bella Lee chipped in five kills and two blocks.

Cianna Leonardo handed out 21 assists to go while registering nine service points and six digs. Fellow setter Gurjaap Kaur produced 11 assists, seen digs and five kills.

“It (the Ripon match) was a really fast tempo, and I think it helped us get touches and get good digs (against Central Catholic),” Kaur said. “I do think that hard driven is where we were succeeding today. It was a little bit of a scrappy style, and we are continuing to get better with that. It was really good to play a hard-hitting team, a team that moves their offense around, and I think that we improved our blocking today.”

After the slow the start, the Timberwolves proved they can trade blows with Central Catholic. They got the Raiders’ attention with their closing flurry in the second set, which ended with a solo stuff from Luna, a kill from Luna and a dink from Kivalu-Ahio that was set up by Currey’s dig of a scorching spike from Thomas.

“I think it comes down to, as a team, bringing it back,” Kaur said. “We knew that wasn’t us, and we knew we know how to play good volleyball.

“A lot of us our seniors, and it was like flipping that switch, because this is our fight — we want it. We want (the) VOL (title), and I think this is the best chance that we have.”

Sierra led for much of game 4 but had trouble separating from the Raiders until the end. Central Catholic threatened to come back from a 24-20 deficit, but after a timeout, Threet put away the kill that sent the match to the fifth set.

It doesn’t get easier for Sierra, which heads to rival Manteca next Tuesday before traveling to Turlock for another tough non-league test. The cross-town match is an important one in what could be a more open race for the league title this season after Central Catholic ran the table in 2024.

“I think every school has a lot of talent right now, and some have lost quite a few seniors,” Kaur said. “I think it’s there (for the taking).”