Beyer remains undefeated in WAC play with win over second-place Lathrop
Beyer and Lathrop have played each other close for the past few seasons.
After winning in four sets earlier this season, Tuesday night’s matchup had more meaning as the Patriots and Spartans went into the game first and second, respectively, in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
The Patriots (19-6, 10-0) stayed undefeated in league play, sweeping the Spartans 25-19, 25-22, 26-24, extending their win streak to seven games and giving them their 10th WAC victory. As the first game in October, it served as Beyer’s Pink Out game to bring awareness to breast cancer.
“It feels good, especially since it’s our Pink Out game,” said outside hitter Fallon Freeman. “They’re really hard to play against, but we pulled through, and it feels really nice to win.”
Fallon’s mother and second-year coach, Melinda Freeman, agreed. “In the past two years, all of our matches have gone four. This is the first time we beat them in three and that’s really something to celebrate because they’ve given us a hard time.”
Beyer jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the first, but the Spartans (11-6, 8-2) showed they wouldn’t go down easily. Lathrop slowly worked it back to a four-point game, forcing coach Freeman to call a timeout with a 15-11 lead. Neither team gained much of an advantage the rest of the set, but timely hits from junior Fallon Freeman and a block at the net by junior Maya Gonzalez for the final point helped the Patriots seal the win.
“It helps a lot,” Fallon Freeman said of playing with Gonzalez. “Our defense is really scrappy and with getting the ball to the corners, it really helps to have big people like that.”
The Patriots played from behind in the second and third sets. In the third, they tied the game at 16 and used an 8-1 run to open up a 24-17 late advantage. Though Lathrop scored four straight points, Beyer closed out the second set by coming together.
“Just keeping positivity,” said Fallon Freeman, who finished with 13 kills and 11 digs. “We sometimes get down on each other, but to just look at each other like, ‘You can do this, go for it, there’s nothing to lose’ helps a lot.”
Lathrop took a 21-20 lead late in the third, forcing a Beyer timeout. They came out of the break and immediately tied the game. Both teams answered each other point-for-point to end the match, but Gonzalez connected on two of her six kills for two of the final three points to seal the win. Setter Ella Gaylor led the team with 12 assists.
“(Timeouts) give them a boost of, ‘Hey, let’s get it together. Let’s communicate. When you guys are working together, you can do anything’ and just reassuring them that all is not lost, point by point, chip away, and we’re back in this game,” coach Freeman said.
With four games remaining in their season, the Patriots are on the cusp of their second straight undefeated league title. It’s something they try not to think about too much as it serves as a silent motivation to keep everything running smoothly.
“Every team wants to try to either get a set off of us or try to beat us,” coach Freeman said. “We got the target on our back. They want to be that team that keeps us from going undefeated again. We want to have back-to-back undefeated league championships so it’s about keeping that goal in mind.”
Stanislaus District Volleyball Scores
Pacheco 3, Davis 1
Ceres 3, Johansen 1
Sierra 3, Oakdale 1
Central Catholic 3, East Union 1
Ripon Christian 3, Waterford 0
