MAXWELL, CA (MPG) – Playing at home amidst the intensity and passion of a rivalry and Mid-Valley League match, the Maxwell volleyball team came back from a set down to fend off Williams by scores of 25-21, 17-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13.
Foreshadowing what was to come, the Panthers opened the first set with strong serving which would ultimately prove to be the difference as they recorded 20 aces as a team.
On the other hand, in the early going the Yellowjackets looked tentative defensively and despite pulling with one point, could not overcome some self-inflicted wounds before Maxwell’s Reese Vierra ended the set with a kill that landed untouched in the back corner of the court.
Undeterred however, Williams caught fire midway through the second set, surpassing the Panthers thanks to aces served by Evelin Iniguez and Jaqueline Esqueda, a block by Giselle Navarro and a final put away from Yurydia Rocha.
Carrying that momentum into the third set, the ‘Jackets used kills by Navarro, Belen Perez and Aimee Velazquez down the stretch to seemingly take control of the match with a 2-1 advantage.
Yet, Maxwell had other ideas and was able to capitalize in the fourth set on five straight Williams errors to force a tie at 23-23 and then go on to win the final two points.
With the crowd on both sides now fully engaged, emotions running high and the scored knotted at 12-12 in the final set, the Panthers were able to keep the Yellowjackets out of system and claimed the hard-fought victory.
Payton Hartill led Maxwell’s attack with 14 kills and drew praise from Coach Sidney Franks, who described the sophomore as the team’s “mood booster,” meaning that her court presence is more than just her statistics.
Other important contributions came from Elizabeth Sanapaw, whose disruptive serve resulted in nine aces on the night, along with Vierra who concluded the match with 10 kills.
However, two perhaps unsung heroes for the Panthers were Erin Dennis and Gia Rudiger who both performed their roles efficiently.
Dennis took the majority of the service receptions and recorded 11 digs in addition to making 10 kills, while Rudiger did well orchestrating the offense with 35 assists.
Meanwhile for the Yellowjackets, Velazquez finished with 17 total points which included 12 kills and five aces, Rocha had eight kills and 17 digs, while Esqueda and Rivera handed out 15 and 14 assists respectively.
In the back row, Dulce Duran tallied 20 digs, Esqueda had 13 and Velazquez pitched in with 12.
Prior to last Thursday’s showdown, Maxwell fell 0-3 to Quincy, the MVL’s top team, despite getting 14 kills from Hartill, while Williams dropped its conference match 1-3 to Hamilton City on a night when Rocha registered 15 kills, Duran made 30 digs and Velazquez logged another 20 digs.
This week Maxwell (21-8, 2-2) traveled to Chico to play CORE Butte on Oct. 6 before returning home to face Biggs on Oct. 8, while Williams (9-9, 2-2) entertained Quincy and CORE Butte on the same subsequent days.