NEWMAN, Calif – Entering her 10th season as the Orestimba High volleyball head coach, Carlee Felber found one word to describe the 2024 squad currently.
Scrappy.
“My team’s biggest strengths are their heart and that they are scrappy on defense,” Felber said. “They never give up on the ball and will do whatever it takes to never let the ball hit the floor.”
The Warriors are off to a good start.
The 17th annual Orestimba Varsity Volleyball Tournament was held, where the Warriors, along with Gustine and Hilmar, hosted 31 schools. The Warriors won all their matches in pool play and two more in bracket play for a 5-0 record.
Orestimba won the tournament for the first time in its history. No scores or additional results of the tournament were available at press time.
Felber has four seniors listed on this year’s roster. Those players are Rhyan Marroquin, Lilly Rocha, Ashlynn Bell and Olivia Gray.
The quartet were part of the 2023 Warriors squad that posted a 28-9 overall record, including a 12-2 mark in Southern Athletic League action.
Newcomers to this year’s team are Lilly Cherry, Hannah Taft, Mallory Solano, Alexis Alves, Ellery Gustafson, Gabriela Valencia, Analyssa Gudino and Sara Fresquez.
One area that the coach wants her team to improve is serve receive passing.
“Nothing effective will ever be able to happen offensively unless we make a good first pass,” Felber said.
Now realigned to the Trans-Valley League, which is a Division V league, Orestimba will face a playoff opponent that is a member of the league in Hilmar. The Yellowjackets defeated the Warriors in three sets in a California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoff match in 2023. Hilmar barely beat Orestimba in five sets in a non-league match, same year.
Hilmar and Orestimba, once Westside rivals, were in the TVL from 2010 to 2014, in the Western Athletic Conference from 2006 to 2010 and the SAL dating back to the 1970s.
Orestimba will have its first meeting at Hilmar on Thursday, Sept. 19. Then the Warriors host the Yellowjackets on Oct. 15.
But before it can think about Hilmar and the rest of the TVL in Escalon, Hughson, Ripon, Ripon Christian and Sonora, Orestimba’s preseason schedule has East Union of Manteca, Patterson, Ceres, Los Banos, Livingston and Dos Palos.
“Our team wants to use the preseason to play some bigger schools to prepare us for our league play in the TVL,” Felber said.
The Warriors open TVL action at Sonora, which also joins the TVL after being in the Mother Lode League for almost a decade, at Wildcats’ gym on Thursday, Sept. 12.
The Warriors’ first home league match is Tuesday, Sept. 17 when Ripon pays a visit.
Felber and her Warriors know that the level of play in the TVL is far greater than the SAL, which is Division VI.
“I am very excited to be playing in the TVL,” Felber said. “Every single game is going to be a battle, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is such a competitive league, and we are ready for the challenge it brings. I can’t wait to show everyone what it means to be a Warrior.”
Febler added, “Honestly, every team is going to be extremely competitive, so I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one team. They are all teams to beat.”
Orestimba continues its preseason schedule at Los Banos on Thursday. Match time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Then the Warriors have another preseason contest at Livingston next Tuesday. That match is set to tipoff at 6 p.m.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushphotography.
