Bears go full throttle, cruise into third consecutive section championship game

The Merced High girls water polo teams can attack teams in many ways. They can overwhelm opponents with a pressure defense. They can score from inside or outside in their offensive sets. On Wednesday night, the Bears displayed their speed, punishing No. 3 Granite Bay with quick counter strikes early to build a comfortable five-goal lead in the first quarter as No. 2 Merced bruised to a 14-5 semifinal victory to punch its ticket into Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship against top-seeded Davis at the Natomas Aquatic Center.

 

The Bears turned defensive stops into quick scores as Dottie Drury and Taylor Lung repeatedly raced down the pool for easy scores in transition. Three of Merced’s first-quarter goals came on counter attacks as they built a 6-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

 

“I don't think they anticipated our speed,” said Merced coach Kit Grattan, whose team improved to 27-3 on the season. “They are a super fast team, so I think they overlooked that we're also fast, but we also anticipate well, and then we move the ball quickly. I don’t think they were ready for that.”

 

Taylor Lung led the Bears with five goals. Drury and Zoey Hickman both added three goals and Sarah Slocum recorded two goals, five assists and six steals. 

 

Lung says all the extra swimming Grattan makes the girls do at practice throughout the season isn’t fun, but it pays off. “Everybody moans and groans when we have to do it, but we thank Kit at the end of the season for making us do it,” Lung said.

 

The Bears came into Wednesday’s game with confidence after defeating Granite Bay 11-6 earlier this season. “I think the girls felt confident,” Grattan said. “I was nervous, but they were confident that they could come out and do it. I think familiarity with teams does help.”

 

The Bears extended their winning streak to 21 consecutive victories and now get a shot to avenge one of their three losses this season to Davis (19-9), which ranked No. 9 in the national according to MaxPreps. The Blue Devils defeated the Bears 11-10 earlier this year and handed No. 4 Whitney a 20-4 defeat in the other semifinal game on Wednesday. Merced will play Davis at 5:30 p.m. in Natomas.

 

The Sac-Joaquin Section bumped Merced up to Division I this year after the Bears won the last two Division II titles. It’s a challenge the Bears have embraced. “It feels amazing,” Hickman said. “It’s so exciting to play for another title and it feels awesome that it’s D1.”

 

Lung says playing for a third straight section championship is a privilege and she feels fortunate to be playing with a group of players who have such a tight bond.
“Absolutely, I’m not taking anything for granted,” Lung said. “A lot of these girls I've been playing with for six years now, so just having the ability to play at such a high level with girls that you love, that is just so valuable to me. I don’t take a second for granted because it can all go away in a second.”

 

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