Manteca’s previous result against rival Sierra did not sit well with senior Camden Steckler and the rest of the Valley Oak League defending champion Buffaloes.
It was perhaps the wake-up call they needed.
On Monday, Manteca avenged that defeat with a tidy 26-24, 25-16, 25-22 sweep at home, putting itself on equal footing with the Timberwolves atop the league standings with one match remaining.
“I really wanted this game and end my senior year with a bang,” Steckler said. “These guys deserve it, and all the hard work we put in all season is worth something in the end.”
Both teams are heavy favorites in their regular-season finales, so a co-championship is likely. The Buffaloes (8-1, 19-8 overall) are on track for their fourth VOL title, while it’s the first for Sierra (8-1, 16-7).
In their previous meeting, the T’wolves pulled off a thrilling 25-12, 12-25, 17-25, 25-14, 16-14 victory. It was Manteca’s first league defeat since 2019.
“My boys are not happy with the co (-championship),” Sierra coach Amy Rosendin said. “I think that might have gotten in their heads a little bit, just the adrenaline and desire of that kept them from playing calmer. (Manteca) had everything to prove and came at us hard, and we just didn’t adjust as well as we could have.”
Steckler said the team was better prepared to face its rival this time around because of extra time spent in film study. The senior front-row standout finished with 13 kills, seven digs and four blocks in the rematch.
“I knew we had a lackluster game the first time,” he said. “I felt like we still had something left in the tank when we played them last.”
Julio Mateo and Nick Grabowski contributed seven kills each, while 6-foot-7 middle Aidan Patton had five. Grabowski also came up with three blocks, combining with Steckler for one of them at the end to give the Buffaloes match point.
Cerick Maglinao and Garrison Reis collected 15 digs apiece.
“Nick really stepped up and by far had one of his better blocking nights,” Manteca coach Jen Reis said. “Blocking is probably the biggest momentum swing in any game, and the first time we played (Sierra) their blocking was lights out. We knew that our blocking had to answer that.
Sierra is a great team, so we knew had to come out big if we want to share the title,” Reis added. “We knew we had to bring our ‘A’ game to do that.”
The opening set was a continuation of their last match, as neither team could gain separation. Manteca led 20-17, only or the Timberwolves to score three straight. The Buffs clinched game 1 on a kill from Mateo, which was made possible by nice out-of-bounds save from Reis.
The second game quickly got away from Sierra after it was tied at 12-12, as unforced errors began to pile up.
“We had hitting errors,” Rosendin said. “We got our serves under control, we did not (struggle with) service errors, but a lot of hitting errors. Guys that don’t normally make the errors were making errors.”
Manteca’s dominance carried over into the third set, as it raced out to a 10-4 lead. Steckler was highly involved with the fast start, accounting for four of the Buffaloes’ first six points (three kills, block).
Sierra, to its credit, did not go away quietly. Sophomore outside hitter Xavier Gaspar spearheaded a comeback, blasting six of his nine kills in the third set. Santino Flores (eight kills) tied it at 12-12 with a spike, and the Timberwolves jump ahead on a back-row kill from Gaspar.
Manteca made the big plays in the end, however, including a Grabowski’s solo stuff of Gaspar to give the Buffs the lead for good, 23-22.
“Xavier always has a lot of passion and motivation on the court, and we needed somebody to spark us and I felt that he did,” Rosendin said.
Austin Kim led the Timberwolves’ back row with 17 digs, and setter Primo Estandarte had 26 assists.
Sierra caps league play Wednesday with senior night against Sierra. Manteca heads to Oakdale.
“We know that in volleyball, momentum is a huge thing,” coach Reis said. “We just don’t want to let down, but also get everyone (playing time) and have fun.”
Junior varsity
Manteca 2, Sierra 0
Jesus Gomez had six kills and 10 digs, as the Buffaloes swept, 25-13, 25-19.
Rob Havener contributed three kills and a block. Raclif Figueroa served a pair of aces.
