Turlock Christian High is on its way to its second consecutive Division VI Sac-Joaquin Section championship match after a convincing straight-game victory (25-7, 25-2, 25-12) over Victory Christian High Tuesday night at home.
The defending D6 volleyball champion Eagles will now face Stone Ridge Christian High at UC Davis Thursday, thanks to a match full of unchecked hitting against the Vikings.
“It’s a great feeling that we get to go back,” Sarah Amaral said.
For the second week in a row, TC was faced with an opponent that had no answer at the net. After three complete games, VC tallied only 19 total points, the majority of which came in the third game with TC’s backups on the court.
The tone was set from the first game when the Eagles scored 16 unanswered points. TC parlayed the performance to an even more dominating second game where the Vikings’ inability to block at the net made the win seem elementary.
As has been the case throughout the season, Amaral brought the heat to the court for TC with 17 kills.
“She’s our go-to when we need a play. She’s the number one hitter, made All-League this year—she leads the team. She leads by example and when she’s on, the team is on,” TC head coach Ken Wynne said. “We have other players that can fill in and back up but it’s not the same when she’s not in the game.”
The win marked TC’s fifth consecutive match-win. Now, the Eagles must make sure not to get too over confident heading into Thursday’s title match, a real concern considering the ease with which TC blew past its post-season opponents.
“I was concerned about that coming into this game, but we really focused on playing our game,” Wynne said.
The championship match will be held at 4 p.m. at UC Davis and is expected to be thoroughly competitive. Stone Ridge earned its spot with an upset victory over the number one seeded Valley Christian Academy.
“Our serving is an asset to our team and our serve receive, and our passing in general, is a real advantage that will help us in Davis,” Wynne said.
“We’re a power team when it comes to hitting and serving, for sure,” Amaral said. “I know that we’re very powerful on our offense and our defense is just as spectacular. We’re really scrappy when we hit the ball.”
