After falling behind 3-0 in the second set Thursday night to visiting East Union, Sierra erupted for a 20-3 run and never trailed again in a 25-20, 25-14, 25-10 Valley Oak League volleyball sweep.
“We have been working through keeping our intensity the whole time,” Timberwolves coach Danielle Deerinck said. “We had a little bit of trouble starting, but we had to make sure we were playing clean volleyball.
“We have played some tough teams this week in Downey and Big Valley Christian, and in the second set, I told them to keep the intensity against all teams that we play like we had in those two matches.”
The first set saw seven ties and two lead changes, with Delicia Kivalu-Ahio helping Sierra (5-1 VOL, 10-7 overall) pull away with eight of her match-high 10 kills in that first set.
“It’s important to get off to a good start to set the tone for the rest of the match,” Kivalu-Ahio said. “As we got more kills it encouraged our hitters to hit harder.”
Amari Currey (six digs, three kills, two aces) got her three kills for the Timberwolves from the back row.
“It felt amazing to get those back-row kills,” Currey said. “And it was all thanks to my amazing setter Gurjaap Kaur. I love her so much.”
Sierra’s Ellis Denny worked hard for a match-leading 14 digs.
“When my blockers are doing a great job it makes getting digs easier,” Denny said. “Depending on where our hitters are set, if they are blocking I can shift around the block, so I can get the balls up.”
Kaur dished out 13 assists and Cianna Leonard added 12 assists and three aces. Hannah Threet (eight kills) and Sophia Threet (five kills, four digs) dished out two aces apiece.
Katelynn Trevino led the Lancers (2-3, 4-7) with six kills and four digs with five kills for Jaelynn Ballou. Giselle Velazquez added eight digs and Isabella Rodriguez four with nine assists and two digs apiece for Meritiana Luani (four kills) and Marcella Carranza.
“We played well tonight,” East Union coach Tevani Liotard said. “If we could have bottled up some big chunks and kept the big chunks going the whole time I think we would have given them more of a run for their money.
“We had a lot of long rallies where we normally do bump set, bump set, and tonight we got the kills. I think we’re going to get better.”
On Tuesday night at 6:15 the Timberwolves host Central Catholic and the Lancers host Mountain House.
Junior varsity
East Union 2, Sierra 0
Elle Baluyut tallied 14 digs and Kennedy McCleod 13 kills to lead the Lancers to a 25-17, 25-14 sweep.
East Union’s Lucija Dayel dished out nine assists along with 12 service points and Emily Pires chipped in three kills.
Rachael Dole posted six digs for the Timberwolves. Bella Lee added four kills, Luna Lopez three kills with Kylee Rodriguez adding four service points and an ace.
Freshmen
Sierra 2, East Union 0
Kashvi Malavat tallied seven kills and three aces for the Timberwolves in a 25-14, 25-15 sweep.
Sierra’s Morgan Tienda (four digs), Addisyn Rogers (five assists) and Scarlett Robertson added three aces apiece.
Maria Kalladanthyil dished out four aces and seven assists for the Lancers. Kadence Rossi (block), Isabella Martinez-Lopez and Camille Christensen chipped in two blocks apiece.
