Lathrop battled former Western Athletic Conference foe Los Banos to a knuckle-biting 21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 15-10 non-league girls volleyball victory at home Thursday.

“I love playing Los Banos,” Spartans coach Toa Fa’ali’i said. “They bring great competition to us and are a well-coached team.

“I’m proud of how my girls came out and competed tonight. When the game matters, they step up and they stepped up tonight.”

Elizabeth Andrade led the attack for Lathrop (6-3) with 27 kills, 12 digs and three aces, including a kill and a dig for the final two points of the second set.

“The match tonight was a lot of work as a team with individuals fighting for ourselves and each other,” Andrade said. “We had to push through to five sets, and we worked really hard for it.”

Justine Mabutas handled the back row handily, hustling for 21 digs.

“Tonight was a very long match,” Mabutas said. “It was very intense, and our defense stepped up and got the job done.”

Erin Chunn added 17 kills, seven digs and two aces for the Spartans, with Ayden Petroff dishing out 50 assists along with six digs and three aces.

The Tigers (4-8) battled back from an 11-16 deficit in the fourth set to force the deciding fifth set.

Lathrop opens WAC play Monday hosting Ceres at 6:30 p.m.

Junior varsity

Los Banos 3, Lathrop 2

After winning the first set 25-19, the Spartans were edged in the next two, 25-27, 16-18.

Lathrop’s Sarah Garcia posted 13 digs and an ace. Brianna Valencia added nine digs and seven kills, Araya Carson seven digs and five kills, Hazel Beltran five digs and three aces and Vivianna Salcedo 14 assists and three digs.

Freshmen

Lathrop 2, Los Banos 0

Andrea Lemus posted six digs and two kills to help the Spartans roll to a 25-10, 25-11 sweep.

Lathrop’s Cassidy Fa’ali’i added four kills, Lilyanna Murillo four digs and Irshbur Murillo three aces and two digs.