WILLIAMS, CA (MPG) – For the second time this season, the Yellowjackets, despite a spirited effort, fell to the Panthers in a Mid-Valley League matchup, this time around by scores of 27-29, 25-21, 22-25, 25-27.
On the ‘Jackets home court last Tuesday, extended play was required in the first set, but four kills by Erin Dennis down the stretch helped lift the Panthers to the mandatory two-point advantage.
However, in the second, Williams fought back, taking its first lead of the set at 21-20, then took advantage of five Maxwell errors to draw even in the match.
Another hard-fought set ensued in the third, although this time the Panthers kept the ‘Jackets out of system and got some consequential play from Reese Vierra at the net to forge ahead.
To bring an end to the evening, the two squads again battled it out point for point, but ultimately inspired back row play from Dennis and libero Jane Silva lifted the Panthers to victory as Vierra put away the final ball.
Coach Sydney Franks said Silva’s play was her best thus far and described her back row combination as “fire” in the win.
Franks also went on to explain how the squad had been working on mental toughness and trust, both of which she saw exhibited in the match.
Still another key to the victory was setter Gia Rudiger, who performed commendably in getting to the second ball and as a result finished with 48 assists as she set the table for her hitters.
Rudiger is having a notable sophomore campaign, sitting eighth in the Northern Section in assists with 733 and sixth in aces with 79.
Vierra ended the night with 18 kills and five blocks while Dennis also logged 18 kills.
Maxwell then went on to close out the regular season two days later with a somewhat surprising 16-25, 25-10, 25-17, 23-25, 6-15 defeat at the hands of visiting CORE Butte.
Dennis had a match-high 12 kills, Vierra added on 10 and Rudiger dished out 28 assists, but it wasn’t enough.
For its part, Williams did not provide statistics from either the loss to the Panthers or its 14-25, 16-25, 20-25 setback in Quincy on Oct. 22.
Nonetheless, both teams had postseason matches this week with the Yellowjackets (11-13) receiving the No. 5 seed in the NSCIF Division IV bracket, heading to play No. 4 Willows on Oct. 29, while Maxwell (24-11) seeded No. 4 in Division VI had a first-round bye and hosted No. 5 Hayfork on Thursday as well.