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‘Jackets clinch third straight TVL title after sweeping Huskies
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Hilmar’s Sara Chavez gets up for a kill attempt during Monday’s 3-0 home win over Hughson High (Photo courtesy of Anna Silveira).

Hilmar High volleyball clinched the Trans Valley League title on Monday night from home when they hosted and beat Hughson High, 3-0, to secure the season sweep. This is the Yellowjackets’ third straight league crown. 

“You know you always want your team to go in and play their game no matter who we play and that is what I told the girls and we went in and we won,” said Hilmar head coach Patti Harris. “I thought they did a good job at it, they mixed it up a lot in there and the foundation was still pretty solid.” 

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Liv Peterson of Hilmar High goes up for a block during Monday’s 3-0 home win over Hughson High (Photo courtesy of Anna Silveira).

“It is hard to come into a program’s home match like this. We just wanted to fight hard, honestly, and improve from the last time we played them, and we did. We kept battling so that was an improvement,” said Hughson head coach Kaci Brazil. 

Following the loss, Hughson’s overall record drops to 12-13 with two league games remaining. Last year, Hughson was 9-16 and 4-9 in the TVL. 

Hughson’s record goes to 6-4 in the TVL, which has them just below a 5-3 Ripon team for fourth place. 

Hughson also snaps a three-game winning streak in league that saw them notch back-to-back straight set victories. 

Hilmar’s winning streak in the TVL has extended to 36 following Monday’s 3-0 win over Hughson. 

So far, all nine league wins have been in straight sets. Hilmar has outscored opponents in the TVL, 27-0. 

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Hughson High’s Madi Coelho finished Monday’s 3-0 loss to Hilmar with a game-high 20 assists (Photo courtesy of Anna Silveira).

Hilmar’s undefeated streak in the TVL goes back to 2016. 

The ‘Jackets have not lost in a TVL game since Oct. 18, 2016 when they fell 3-1 to Ripon High. 

Monday’s win also secured the ninth consecutive season with at least 25 wins or more. 

Since 2011, the ‘Jackets have won 274 games following Monday’s win. They are 96-7 in the TVL during that span since 2011 — with three league games remaining this year. 

Monday’s second meeting of the year also gave the opportunity for Hughson to continue their growth against a powerhouse in the section. 

In the first set, Hilmar jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up, essentially closing it out with a 4-1 run to win it 25-13. 

The second set was the most interesting after Hughson battled and tied the game up on several occasions. With the game at 10-9, Hilmar slowly but surely began to pull away and their 15-7 run secured the 25-16 win. 

The third set was the most lopsided after Hilmar came out on fire, going up and leading by as many as 15. 

Hilmar eventually won the third, 25-8. 

With the win, Hilmar’s overall record is now 25-10. 

Liv Petersen tallied a game-high 14 kills and added four aces. Addy Garst and Emma Martin had 11 assist each while Mikela Labno added seven blocks. Kayley Souza and Julia Gonsalves had 10 digs each. 

Hughson’s Delaney Serpa finished with a team-high seven kills. Emma Tomlinson and Felicity Sill added four kills each. Tomlinson had a team-high three blocks. Madi Coelho had a team-high 20 assists. 

“The ability not to quit and keep pushing, I think that is going to serve us well as we continue to move forward, and especially if we make the playoffs as well,” Brazil added. “We battled and they played very smart.”

The next game for Hilmar is a home contest against Modesto Christian at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. 

Hughson’s next league game will be a road contest at Ripon High at 6:30 p.m. Monday.