Hilmar High’s quest for their first league title in volleyball since 2019 continued with a straight-set victory over Trans-Valley League opponent Orestimba on Thursday night despite several comeback attempts from the Warriors. The win improved their record to 4-0 in conference play and 15-5 overall.
Hilmar won their first set comfortably by 25-12 score, a set they never trailed in. In the second and third sets, the Yellowjackets found themselves with 23-19 leads before the Warriors surged to make it a two-point deficit on each occasion. In the third set, the Warriors knotted things at 23. But in each instance, the ‘Jackets were able to reach the 25-point marker.
Ending the second set with a kill was junior Alyssa Colston, who finished with 14 on the night. She finished second of all players in kills just behind senior teammate Finley Rosa, who had 16. Junior Emma Gomes pitched in with four aces while Stella Pires assisted on 40 points.
“(Colston and Rosa) are fun to watch,” said Hilmar head coach Patti Harris. “They’re these great two outsides who just do a really good job playing with the defense on the other side of the court. They just do a lot of different things where the opposing defense never knows what to expect. They're backing up, you never know which one is taking it or how hard they’re going to take a shot, they’re just playing mind games with the other side. And my middles are really good, super solid, good swingers. There's just a lot of good stuff throughout this team.”
The Warriors came into Thursday’s contest winless in two TVL games and with a 14-6 overall record on the season, but the two late comeback attempts proved that they were not a squad to be taken lightly.
Orestimba head coach Carlee Felber was proud of her team’s ability to claw back into the last two sets despite the slow start.
“That first set, we definitely struggled with… If that first pass is not good, you can't really run any type of aggressive offense, so we just gave them too many easy balls to return, basically,” Felber said. “We could do more things offensively, but since we couldn't get that first pass off, it made it hard. We got better at the end of the first set and we definitely improved a lot in the second and third, but it was just too late at that point.
“I just like that my team never gives up. That’s something I say and try to show the girls at practice because we don't have the tallest people, we don't have the most athletic people we won't let anybody outwork us. I teach them to never give up, no matter what. I feel like they showed people what it's like to be a Warrior. And I don't think anybody should underestimate us.”
Junior Ashlynn Bell and senior Olivia Gray each had eight kills to lead the Warriors. Bell also contributed offensively with 12 assists. Senior Rhyan Marroquin had a team-high 17 digs, as well as a block.
Colston said that her team certainly didn’t overlook the tough OHS squad.
“We came into this game preparing for Orestimba because we know they’re a really scrappy team,” Colston said. “Obviously we had belief in ourselves, but we just wanted to make sure we stayed on our game and stayed focused for this game. We lost it a little bit in that last set especially, but we came back… Our mentality was to just stay strong throughout the whole thing.
“We knew that the TVL this year was going to be a lot tougher than last year… We have a strong mentality, knowing that we're a big team and knowing that we're intimidating, but we're just always staying ready and not second guessing anything or anybody.”
After many local conferences in the Sac-Joaquin Section realigned this offseason, the TVL (consisting of longtime members Hughson, Escalon, Ripon and Sonora) welcomed Ripon Christian and Orestimba from the Southern League while saying goodbye to Livingston and Riverbank. All seven teams competing in the league this year are playoff regulars.
“The TVL is just going to be like that from now on,” said Harris. “There is some super great volleyball out of all the teams in the league, and Orestimba is one of them, a team that always goes to playoffs every year.”
Defensively for Hilmar, senior libero Teygan Hortsmeier piled up 19 digs while Emma Gomes, Reese Ahlem, Madalyn Alvares and Emily Barroso each had a block.
“This team is just so dynamic, getting better and better with every game they play,” continued Harris. “They are like a jar when you turn the cap tighter and tighter. They’re getting tighter as a team, working together well as a team on both sides of the team. It’s really exciting to see.”
Next up on Hilmar’s schedule is a home match against Hughson on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Huskies are 9-8 overall and are 1-3 in TVL play. They are coming off a five-set loss to Sonora, a team Hilmar defeated in straight sets on Tuesday. Back in August, the Yellowjackets defeated the Huskies 2-0 at the Orestimba Tournament. Before making the trip to Hilmar, the Hughson team will play Orestimba on Tuesday night in Newman. Hughson comes into Tuesday’s contest 9-8, including a 1-3 record in the TVL.
Orestimba’s record, meanwhile, dropped to 14-7 overall and 0-3 in TVL play following Thursday’s loss. After their Hughson date, the Warriors will welcome the Knights of Ripon Christian to town, who are 7-11 on the year and 1-2 in conference competition. The Yellowjackets defeated the Knights in straight sets on Sept. 10 to open the TVL season.
