Buffaloes avenge loss, hand Sierra 1st VOL loss

Manteca avenged a heartbreaking loss to Sierra on Monday night, winning a thrilling first set en route to a 34-32, 25-17, 25-23 straight-set victory.

The defeat is Sierra’s first in the Valley Oak League this season. In their Aug. 31 meeting, the Timberwolves downed Manteca in five sets after dropping the first two.

“That one really stuck with us,” Manteca middle blocker Trinity Todd said. “Anytime you go up 2-0 and lose it hurts but especially against a rival it doesn’t feel good. We came out with really good energy and knew we weren’t going to let that happen again.”

Those in attendance looked to be in for another five-set classic early on in the first set. Sierra (6-1 VOL, 12-7 overall) jumped out to an early lead over Manteca (5-2, 12-4) behind really good play at the net from outside hitters Delicia Kivalu-Ahio (26 kills) and Hannah Threet (13 kills). Paced by Todd (seven kills, four blocks) and Taimane Tu'uga (21 kills) the Buffaloes battled back to tie it up, 25-25. The teams then traded blows each serving for set point multiple times but unable to clinch the set. Manteca finally broke through when while serving up 33-32, Sierra committed a rotational error that gave the set to the Buffaloes, 34-32.

“Those are high-leverage, high-stress situations,” Sierra head coach Danielle Deerinck said. “Most of the time, matches like this come down to who makes the fewest mistakes, and we unfortunately made a big one in a crucial spot.”

Playing with the 1-0 lead Manteca again turned to the Todd-Tu'uga duo to keep momentum on its side. Junior setter Katie Anderson (17 assists) found the pair early on in the set to build a lead before senior opposite hitter Na'ima Calderon (six kills) got going to help Manteca clinch the second set, 25-17.

“We had a lot of girls contribute tonight, which was really nice to see,” Buffaloes head coach Robin Chandler said. “We have some girls out with injury and are trying out players in some different spots, and they really stepped up big time tonight.”

As is often the case, Deerinck and the Timberwolves turned to Kivalu-Ahio with their backs against the wall in the third set. The senior looked every bit the Valley Oak League most outstanding player candidate hammering home seven kills to push her team to a 23-20 lead on the brink stealing momentum back towards the Timberwolves and force a fourth set.

“Delicia has been so big for us throughout this run,” Deerinck said. “She has a tendency to play big in big moments, and she definitely kept us in the match tonight.”

For Todd and the rest of the Buffaloes, the emphasis was on finishing the match when Chandler called a timeout with her team on the ropes.

“I said it in the huddle, we cannot let this happen again we need to finish them off here,” Todd said. “We know what kind of a team they can be when they get momentum on their side.”

Chandler’s team responded coming out of the timeout, winning five straight points highlighted by two kills from Tu'uga and finally capped by Todd’s final kill to put the match away for Manteca, 25-23.

Sierra came into the match up two matches in the loss column over second-place Oakdale.

“I told the girls after the game what we do next is going to define how this season ultimately goes for us,” Deerinck. “They have fought back time and time again when they face adversity, and we’ll need to do that yet again down the stretch here in league play.

For Manteca, the victory over Sierra not only gets them closer in the league race but should give it a nice bump in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II rankings.

“We’re going to do everything we can to keep this thing going,” Chandler said. “We know there are no easy matches in this league and we’ll need to bring it every night from here on out.”

Both teams will play at home on Wednesday in their next VOL tilts, as Manteca hosts Central Catholic and Sierra plays Patterson.