MAXWELL, CA (MPG) -After suffering two straight set losses to Maxwell in the preseason, Williams turned the tables last Tuesday night, defeating the rival Panthers on their home court by scores of 25-22, 14-25, 25-12, 16-25, 15-13 in the Mid-Valley League opener.
It was the first loss in 17 matches for Maxwell, who made uncharacteristic errors and was frequently out of system.
Credit goes to the Yellowjackets though, as they fought through the rough patches in the match to ultimately secure the win.
In the first set, the Panthers got off to a slow start, but battled back to tie and then take its first lead of the game at 16-15, however, Williams was able to gain control down the stretch, highlighted by a solo block and two kills from Caitlyn Ruiz.
But Maxwell seemingly got back on track in the second set, jumping ahead by as many as seven points and capitalizing on the Yellowjackets struggles in serve receive.
While the Panthers also outplayed the ‘Jackets at the net, it was an ace from Bailee Haywood that brought the set to a close and allowed Maxwell to draw even in the match.
Yet, the momentum didn’t carry over into the third set for the Panthers, as the Yellowjackets’ Mia Rivera and Lupita Zuniga dominated the set.
In the fourth set, the Panthers fought back once more, making short work of the ‘Jackets, keeping them off balance with strong serving.
Playing for the first time all season in a fifth set, Maxwell got off to a fast start, although Williams clawed its way back to tie at 7-7. Back-to-back aces from Shelby Dunlap saw the Panthers regain the lead 10-7 and extend the advantage to 13-9 after a block by Emma Hendrix and two errors by the Yellowjackets.
However, at that juncture, the Jackets shifted into another gear and erased the deficit, after kills by Andrea Rivera and Valeria Vargas and blocks by Mia Rivera and Zuniga. Andrea Rivera served out the match’s final points, capping the win with an ace, in which she took a little off her normally booming serve, catching not only the Panthers off-guard, but her coach Darren Robinson as well.
“I knew that if anyone could serve the final five points Andrea could,” said Robinson. “But I didn’t expect the short serve. I wish I could say I told her to do it, but I didn’t, that was all her.”
In the match, Mia Rivera had nine kills and served four aces, Zuniga tallied nine kills, four blocks and three aces, while Giselle Navarro handed out 19 assists.
For the Panthers’ offense, Fatima Cano recorded a team-high six kills, while Hendrix finished with nine aces and 11 assists.
Haywood led the defensive effort with 34 digs, while Kennidy Moss and Allie Wills made 11 and 10, respectively.
Despite the win the Yellowjackets lost their second match last week falling in Los Molinos 25-10, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 7-15.
Mia Rivera recorded 15 kills, Zuniga finished with seven, and Navarro dished out 28 assists.
Meanwhile, the Panthers got back to their winning ways downing CORE Butte 14-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-18.
Cano had a monster performance tallying 19 kills and 14 blocks while Hendrix had eight kills, 14 assists and eight digs. In the back row, Haywood made 15 digs and Moss pitched in with 10.
MVL play continued this week for both squads as Williams (9-14, 1-1) traveled to Chico on Tuesday to face CORE Butte then hosted Hamilton City on Thursday, while Maxwell (18-2, 1-1) squared off against Hamilton and Biggs respectively at home.