Sweeping their first two opponents in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 volleyball playoffs, the Escalon varsity Lady Cougars earned themselves a spot in the semifinals.
That semifinal game, pitting number three seed Escalon against number two seed Placer, saw Escalon fall in a five-set battle on the road Tuesday night, Nov. 3 by a 3-2 final. Hughson, the top seed, hosted and defeated number four West Campus in the other semifinal on Tuesday, with Placer and Hughson scheduled to meet for the Section title on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7.
Prior to the semifinal defeat, it was a pair of wins for Escalon in postseason play.
In the opening round on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the number three seed Lady Cougars put away number 14 River Islands, 25-17, 25-16, 25-15.
“We had already played them earlier in the season, so we knew we needed to focus on stopping their best player, Corley Simoni, in order to be successful,” said head coach Stephanie Ceja. “Aniston Hunt did a great job at spreading the ball around, and our offense mixed up their shots to keep them on their toes.”
Hunt had 23 assists, nine kills, two aces and 10 digs. Emma Strong had nine kills, two aces and seven digs; Avery Bartelink, six kills, two aces, six blocks, 16 digs; Arianne Paulsen, five kills, three blocks; Brynn Caton, six aces, 11 digs; and Haven MacKinnon, five blocks.
“On Thursday, we beat Union Mine 3-0,” Ceja said of the sweep in scores of 25-7, 25-8, 25-15.
Again, it was a well-rounded effort by Escalon, getting their second game of the D4 playoffs at home on Oct. 29 and dispatching Union Mine in about an hour.
“This honestly was so awesome, we didn’t think we were going to sweep them,” admitted senior captain Haven MacKinnon of taking down Union Mine in three. “We thought they were going to be pretty good competition but I mean, we came into it, we were ready and we got it done.”
Fellow senior and captain Aniston Hunt said the team is clicking and showed that against Union Mine.
“I think just being able to play together, having a really positive atmosphere on the court is really helping us,” Hunt explained. “What we’ve been doing is scouting out the teams we’ve been playing coming in to these playoff matches and that has really helped us, knowing what the opponent is going to do.”
Junior Emma Strong said while there’s more at stake in the playoffs, it isn’t a time for nerves.
“I’m not nervous, I’m excited to keep playing our game. I think tonight we really showed everyone what we’re capable of, running things that we are new to doing,” Strong said.
Senior captain Brynn Caton has been a calming presence for the team, which has several underclassmen on the roster.
“Our team is pretty young so I like to make sure that everyone’s keeping their head up even if we’re not in the best spot and we’re losing key points,” explained Caton. “Just being positive all the time really helps us to make the next play.”
It’s also a team mentality, when losing a point, to just say “No big deal”, Caton added, moving on to get the next one.
They can also have fun, such as ‘bench pressing’ Riley Titsworth, the smallest player on the team, with Strong usually the one who does the lifting at courtside following a big Lady Cougar point.
Union Mine came in Thursday night as the number six seed, fresh off their first-round sweep of number 11 Oakmont, but they had no answer for Escalon, never getting into a rhythm.
“This was a huge match for us because winning this match meant we qualified for the State Tournament,” Ceja said, with the team continuing to play past the Sac-Joaquin Section D4 competition. “Our girls knew what was on the line and played almost flawlessly. Our serving was tough, our defense didn’t let a ball drop, our offense was firing at every position, and our blocking was solid. I couldn’t have asked any more of this group of girls. This was a true team win.”
