The Hilmar High Yellowjackets are now 5-0 in the Trans Valley League after taking down league rivals—Escalon High at home in Thursday’s TVL matchup 3-1.

It was Escalon who came out on fire, winning the first set 21-25 but the ‘Jackets were able to bounce back as they took it to the Cougars, winning the next three en route to a victory (21-15, 25-23, 25-22 and 25-8).

“The girls played excellent. Defense was good, offense was solid. I told the girls before the third game that they could beat them and they did,” Hilmar head coach Patti Harris said. “They put it down. It was a great win because Escalon is a good team with a great defense. It was our offense against their defense and we prevailed.”

Hilmar started sloppy in the first set, missing several serves, but in the second, the ‘Jackets prevailed after being down 5-11 early on, and would dominate the third and fourth sets.

“We were making our own errors early on but we picked it back up. We missed eight serves in the game and we have not done that this year yet,” Harris said. “The girls are focused, consistent and intense; you can see when you watch them play.”

With the help of sophomore Emily Baptista who finished the game with 27 kills, four aces and three blocks, Hilmar’s offense was able to keep their composure and overcome the Cougars in what was a wild match.

“In the beginning we started slow and I don’t know what was wrong with us, but then we picked it up, pulled it together and played as a team and came together on the court. We managed to put our mistakes behind us,” Baptista said.

Setting the game and pace for the game was junior sensation—Haylee Pearce who topped out at 43 assists. Senior Valerie Ewing finished the day with 28 digs.

The ‘Jackets will host Ripon High at 6:30 p.m. Thursday .