Photos provided by Livingston sports photography students

The Livingston High girls volleyball team had reason to celebrate on Tuesday night. The Wolves swept Le Grand 3-0 to win their first match since 2023, snapping a streak of 40 matches, including an 0-28 record last season. The Livingston players were full of smiles and laughter as they celebrated their reward for the hard work they’ve put in the past two seasons under head coach Mike Alvernaz. “There was a big sigh of relief,” Alvernaz said. “Basically, after the match, I said, ‘No, 0-23 this year,’ and they just went crazy. It’s a big pride thing for them. They showed they can do it.”

 

The Wolves defeated Le Grand 25-16, 25-11, 25-15 to pick up their first victory since defeating Central Valley 3-1 on Sept. 14, 2023. Livingston received contributions from up and down its roster, including senior Emily Lara recording five kills and nine assists. Freshman Aimee Aguilar Briones added five kills, six aces and nine digs. Junior Mia Lopez played big at the net, recording four blocks and senior Mariah Blaine anchored the defense with a team-high 10 digs. Junior Noelani Hocson also chipped in with nine assists to help orchestrate the offense.

 

“We started giving out wristbands to the player of the match, but for this one, the whole team got it,” Alvernaz said. “The bench was supporting everybody, the girls on the court were supporting everybody, and as you can tell, on the stats, everyone did a little bit of everything.”

Photos provided by Livingston sports photography students

The Wolves return eight players from last year’s team who all stuck through the growing pains. The team was short on numbers last year as they started the season with 12 players but only had nine on the roster toward the end of the year. Alvernaz says this year he has a bigger roster to work with and can sub in players when needed. “Last year we were not technically sound,” Alvernaz said. “This year the group is a little bit more technically sound and you can see the big improvements on that. We have a lot more confidence this year. To see them realize that they've reached some goals and they're getting better is just huge.”

 

Alvernaz is coaching on both sides of the spectrum with the Wolves’ boys and girls volleyball program. The Livingston boys were a juggernaut last spring, winning the Northern California Regional Championship and playing for a state title. Now this fall he’s building up the girls program with eager and willing participants. He’s enjoying coaching both teams. Watching the girls celebrate their victory on Tuesday night was just as rewarding for him as it was for his players.

 

“It was interesting, because even though we didn't win a match last year, the players still stuck together and they played as a team,” Alvernaz said. “There wasn't any bickering or anything like that. So I know I have a good core group in that sense, but now to put it on the court and do what they did was just a big relief off of their shoulders.”

 

Buhach Colony 3, Stone Ridge Christian 1 – The Thunder rebounded after dropping the first game to win the final three sets to improve to 3-3 this season with a 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-17 victory over the Knights. Senior outside hitter Maddie Zamarripa displayed great offesensive efficiency, recording a team-high 17 kills on just 21 attempts to lead Buhach Colony. 

 

Buhach Colony’s junior setter McKenna Hill dished out 46 assists and senior libero Lilly Wisdom racked up 28 digs. The Thunder have won three of their last four matches and will host Turlock on Thursday night.

Shawn Jansen is the MUSDH Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.