Escalon beats Christian Brothers in thriller for third straight volleyball section title
For the second time in as many games, the Escalon High volleyball team was in a five-set slugfest in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoff game. Just like in last Tuesday’s semifinal, the Cougars delivered.
After falling in a 2-1 hole against No. 3 Christian Brothers, top-seeded Escalon rallied back to beat the Falcons 21-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11 at Modesto Junior College to secure its third straight section title.
After two full seasons without a five-set match, they played in two straight, winning both.
“One word to describe this team right here was ‘perseverance’ — they never gave up,” said coach Teresa Williamson. “They fought through. We were trailing a lot the whole five sets, so this says a lot about these girls in their heart.”
The Cougars (32-1) rebounded from a first-set loss by winning the second, and though they jumped out to an early lead in the third, the Falcons (23-10) snatched momentum back with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 15. From that point on, the Cougars didn’t lead in the third and were facing a win-or-go-home fourth.
“We were nervous, but we knew we just had to step on that gas pedal,” said senior Emily Vickers. “We knew the spots that worked, we just had to hit them, and when we started doing it, we just turned into a whole different team.”
Five unanswered points after a 14-14 tie got the Cougars rolling in the fourth, propelling them to victory. They carried that momentum into the deciding fifth set as they outscored the Falcons 4-2 to end the match.
“The semifinals was the first time that we went to a fifth set all season, so I was kind of nervous going into it,” said Vickers, who finished with a team-high 19 kills and added 24 digs. “But winning that definitely gave me confidence for this game.”
Rylie Lattig finished with a team-high 28 assists, and Faye Hernandez had a stellar defensive effort, leading the team with 27 digs.
Though they’ve won the past two section titles, this one is sweeter. After being moved up a division this year, and though they earned the top seed, they felt they had something to prove.
The Cougars will learn their opponent in the CIF State Northern California Regional Championships on Sunday afternoon.
“After being moved to D-3 for NorCals last year and being D-3 for (section) playoffs this year, they wanted to prove that they are where they belong,” Williamson said
Going out on top
Williamson wasn’t supposed to coach this year.
Her original plan was to stop coaching after last season, but after some convincing from the players, she decided to make this year her final one at the helm.
“I think it was me and Riley,” Vickers said. “We didn’t really talk about it much because it wasn’t for sure. It was definitely up in the air but we were just like, ‘We want you back.’”
The team never talked about the fact that it was Williamson’s last year, but when Saturday’s match ended, it was obvious.
Family, friends and players gathered around Williamson, who is responsible for coaching Cougars teams to the only three section championships in school history, for pictures, hugs and to offer congratulations. While she will still be around the game, she said her days as a head coach are done.
The Cougars find out their Regionals opponent Sunday, but as far as the section goes, Williamson goes out as a back-to-back-to-back champion.
“She’s such a good coach,” said Vickers, who played on all three section championship teams. “I’m so glad we got to do that for her.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2022 at 12:08 PM.
