It was another quick night of work for the Hilmar High volleyball team on Thursday, as the reigning and defending Northern California champions swept Palma of Salinas 25-22, 25-11, 25-19 in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation Division V State Tournament.
The three-set victory over the No. 7 Chieftains (14-14) set the Yellowjackets (24-16) up with a third meeting between Trans-Valley League rival Escalon (18-15) at 6 p.m. Saturday back at Strom Gymnasium.
The Cougars are the third seed in the D-V bracket, and outlasted No. 6 Kelseyville in five sets on Thursday.
The ‘Jackets and the Cougars split the regular season series, with Hilmar winning 3-2 (22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-13) on Sept. 11 and Escalon avenging the loss with a 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-12) result on Oct. 7.
“The state tournament is just hard,” said Hilmar head coach Patti Harris. “You're playing teams from other sections, and they're all good and they all have their strengths. But we went through it last year, not winning league, not winning the section, so we know how it is, how intense it can be.”
Bringing all the energy to the court Thursday and firing up the home crowd was junior middle hitter Reese Ahlem, who stuffed the stat sheet with 10 kills and seven blocks to lead all players.
In the first set, Ahlem set an early tone, scoring two of Hilmar’s first three points with a block and a kill to go along with freshman Johanna Lawler’s spike.
The opening set would end up being the most competitive set of the evening. After senior libero Lia Salvador put on a masterclass in setting with four aces to build an 18-10 lead, the score quickly became tied at 22 as the Chieftains forced a string out hits out of bounds and took advantage of some brief Hilmar miscommunications. The Yellowjackets eventually pulled away with kills from senior setter Stella Pires and junior hitter Emily Barroso.
Salvador attributed her game-high five aces to hours of practice.
“I really do practice my spots, my receiving and my reflexes for digging,” Salvador said, also referencing a handful of diving saves she made in the second and third sets. “Before today's game, I closed my eyes for a minute and was just telling myself, ‘You got this.’ I just visualized what I wanted to do and put that confidence in myself so that I wouldn't be nervous going out there on the serving line, whether it was game point or the first point of the game. I just had to manifest a good game.”
While Ahlem’s teammates took care of the rest of the scoring the set, she took over the second frame, tabbing five kills and ending matters with a pair of thunderous blocks, her celebratory roars after each point infectious amongst her teammates and those in the crowd.
And it wasn’t just for her own successes. After Pires, Salvador and senior Alex Lemos combined for three saves in a wild back-and-forth second-set sequence that resulted in another point, Ahlem was the first to pump them out with congratulatory pushes.
Holding a 24-18 lead in the third set, the Yellowjackets secured the win after a Palma return shot was floated out of bounds near the Hilmar bench.
Pires finished the game with 29 assists, seven kills, six digs and a block. Barroso added five kills and two blocks. Senior Emma Gomes contributed with six kills and two blocks.
Ahlem said the passion behind her play comes from the strong desire to avenge last year’s loss in the state title game.
“We just need that redemption,” Ahlem said. “You don't know how many times in practice I look up at that (Northern California) banner. I just that white (state) banner so, so bad. I'm willing to do anything to get that.”
In terms of practice, Wednesday brought what many of the Hilmar players tabbed as the most intense practice they have ever been a part of. It included an intrasquad scrimmage that ended in a 30-28 score.
“We just knew what was at stake,” Salvador said. “We had a talk after the last game, because even though we won (3-0 over Encinal), we didn't feel like we put our all out there. This is NorCals. We don't have any second chances anymore. It's not like sections, and we don't have another bracket to enter. We just balled out yesterday, competed like crazy, and it showed today.”
It was a welcome sight for Harris and her coaching staff.
“They're putting in the work and really developing as individuals, which then develops the whole team,” Harris said. “These girls have been together playing and practicing in this gym since June, and you can see how much they want this.”
