Reigning Northern California Division 4 volleyball champion Hilmar High hasn’t seemed to have missed a beat, as they defeated neighboring Turlock High in straight sets on Tuesday evening in non-conference action from Bulldog Arena.
The 25-12, 25-20, 25-18 win pushes the Yellowjackets to 6-0 in the regular season, with their lone blemish this year being a foundation game loss in five sets to Pitman High last week, which does not count towards their official record.
“It was a good win in a great atmosphere,” said Hilmar head coach Patti Harris, who enters her 17th season at the helm. “Turlock is always a really good team, always well-coached, so it’s always good to match up against them and come out with a win.”
The Bulldogs got off on the right step when kills by Haley Stiles, Amelia Spaulding and Amaya Morales gave them an early 3-1 advantage in the first set, but from there it was all ‘Jackets, going on a 9-2 run. From that point, the only other time they trailed was when it was 2-1 Turlock in the third and final set.
The Yellowjackets have a large cast of characters returning from last year’s dream season, including senior hitter Alyssa Colston, who led all players with nine kills, including one that ended the second set on a thunderous note. Another returner, Stella Pires, contributed 29 assists, as well as four kills, including one to end the first set with a hard-pounding shot of her own.
Juniors Reese Ahlem and Emily Barroso are other returners at the middle hitter position, and each junior had their share of moments. Ahlem had four blocks while Barroso had three kills. Around them defensively were those finding familiarity in the starting lineup — Lia Salvador and Emma Nyman. Each were members of last year’s team, but the rotation with themselves and standout freshman Johanna Lawler is very new, yet very effective. Nyman and Salvador each had 13 digs. Lawler, who stands 6-foot-4, made her presence known with a pair of blocks to go along with a game-high four aces.
“Our defense is completely new, and we have a lot of hitters again, and they bring a challenge,” Harris said. “And (Johanna) is really good.”
Turlock’s junior one-two hitters Spaulding and Stiles led their team’s offensive efforts, with Spaulding racking up six kills and Stiles five. Spaulding also had an ace and a block.
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-2, and will turn their attention Thursday when they travel to Atwater to take on Buhach Colony. As for the Yellowjackets, they’ll try to improve on their undefeated record when they travel to Reno this weekend for the High Sierra Tournament.
Pride also undefeated to start year
The Pitman High volleyball team also entered Tuesday unbeaten following a dominant showing over the weekend at the annual Stockton Classic. At the major tournament, the Pride didn’t lose a single set, going 8-0 across their four games.
They opened with a pair of 25-22 sets wins over St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) bright and early at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, and immediately returned to the court to take down Stockton’s Bear Creek by 25-18, 25-14 marks. The afternoon brought forward Tracy, whom the Pride beat in matching 25-19 sets. They claimed the tournament crown in the nightcap against Lodi, winning with two 25-20 sets.
Senior Maryn Hall continued to do what she has done best for the Pride in recent seasons, leading the team with 31 kills and eight digs scattered across the four wins. Senior Kayliyah Williams and sophomore Shanna Russell had another 19 and 17 kills, respectively, to help lead the team.
Hall also led a serving clinic from the Pride with a whopping 10 aces. Seniors Aila Reich and Alyssa Moreno pitched in with five aces each. Complimenting them throughout the day was sophomore Izabella Ziencina, who had 51 assists.
Defensively, Moreno and Russell had 10 blocks. Sophomore Jahvni Dhillon added eight digs.
