Sierra overcame 23 service errors and a spirited effort from visiting rival East Union on Monday for a hard-earned 25-14, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17 Valley Oak League victory.
After a lopsided opening set, the Timberwolves’ struggles from the service line helped East Union (3-3 VOL, 7-5 overall) establish some momentum and make a match of it.
“They’re still learning to have consistently,” Sierra coach Danielle Deerinck said of her young team. “Just because you win a game 25-14, you can’t let up. Every team is going to come back and fight for it more.”
A missed serve followed by three unforced hitting errors from Sierra (4-1, 11-8) helped the Lancers gain early separation in the second set, and Xavier Gaspar ended the barrage with a kill to give them a 10-4 lead. Gaspar’s fourth kill of the set secured it for the EU.
The momentum carried over into the third game, as East Union raced out to an 8-2 advantage.
Sophomore setter Toan Do played a big part of tilting the match back in Sierra’s favor, coming up with two solo blocks followed by a setter dump that pushed the T’wolves ahead, 10-9. He later assisted consecutive kills from Owen Altadonna and Thinh Huynh that capped the pivotal third set.
“That was an important moment for us, because we were down by so much,” Huynh said. “I just tried my best to get those points for us.”
It was Do who ended the match with his fifth block.
“That felt so good,” he said. “East Union has been our rival for a while. We lost to them last year, so it felt good to win this time.”
He finished with 31 assists, nine digs, 17 service points and two aces. Altadonna led all players with 13 kills. He also had three blocks and two aces. Opposite hitter Landon West contributed 11 kills, three blocks and seven digs.
Sophomore Thinh Huynh (seven kills) and Yatharth Katyal (five kills) also came up with timely spikes. Manolo Asuncion anchored Sierra’s backline with 14 digs.
Gaspar paced East Union with eight kills, three blocks and seven assists. Libero Keenan Yang netted 14 digs. Gabriel Holguin chipped in seven kills and four blocks.
“I told them, ‘You guys don’t need to hang your heads at this,’” EU coach Tevani Liotard said. “This was a good win for Sierra, and they played some good ball, but we had some good things happening, too.”
Sierra welcomes Central Catholic on Wednesday before its big meeting with VOL-leading Manteca on Friday. East Union hosts second-place Mountain House on Wednesday.
