The Atwater High girls volleyball team thought that losing a tough five-game match to Buhach Colony in the final game of the regular season might have spoiled their shot at making the playoffs. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Falcons saw they earned the No. 16 and were hosting a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II play-in game on Monday.

 

Atwater (20-9) extended its season at least one more day with a 3-0 sweep of No. 17 Kennedy on Monday night. The Falcons used a balanced attack to cruise to a 25-18, 25-21, 25-14 victory that sets up a first-round matchup Tuesday night with No. 1 Rocklin at 6 p.m. In other volleyball playoff action involving MUHSD schools, No. 14 Buhach Colony travels to No. 4 St. Francis and No. 5 El Capitan hosts No. 12 Manteca.

 

“This was huge for us, especially because we thought our match last Thursday was going to be our last home game,” said Atwater coach Lauren Leonardo. “Tonight was nice with our crowd, our students section kept our energy high.”

 

The Falcons controlled the match with senior setter Amara Rhodes orchestrating the offense. Rhodes worked the middle with middle blockers Isabella Villa and Caylor Gibson and fed the outside to hitters like Emma Rodriguez, Breanna Ellis and Amaya Boykin. 

 

The first game was tight throughout, but the Falcons were able to get an ace from Arianne Lopez and a kill for Villa to help close the game with a 7-1 run to win 25-18. The Falcons then trailed 15-17 in game two, but closed out the game with a 10-4 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Lopez and Kianna Quiroz Huammi recorded aces during that stretch and Villa, Ellis and Rhodes all recorded key kills.

 

Leonardo said the girls needed a quick timeout to regroup and refocus during that pivotal second game. “We needed to remind ourselves why we’re here and how we got here,” Leonardo said. “I think tonight we played with a lot of heart. We just needed a reminder that this is on us, we’re making a lot of mistakes and we limit those mistakes we’ll be on top.”

 

The third game saw the Falcons start fast as Gibson came up with a block and added a kill and Boykin delivered an impressive kill from the outside to help Atwater take an 8-2 lead. The Falcons never let Kennedy back in the game as they closed out the play-in game to set up tonight’s long trip to Rocklin.

 

Leonardo said advancing the playoffs is a reward for her seniors and an opportunity to gain valuable experience for her younger players. “It’s exciting,” Leonardo said. “Our group is very young, so any win in the playoff realm is huge. Our young players are getting experience with amazing seniors and leadership so hopefully they can come back the next few years and bring that experience with them.”

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