Hilmar volleyball cruises past Bear River, into semifinals

Hanging on the wall in the corner of Strom Gym is a small sign with blue letters: #Quest For Blue.

Every Hilmar High volleyball player knows what it means.

“If you’re playing a match and you look up and see that sign, it’s definitely motivation,” Yellowjackets senior Haylee Pearce said.

The Yellowjackets moved one step closer to playing for a Sac-Joaquin Section blue banner with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-10 victory over seventh-seeded Bear River (19-11) on Thursday night in the Division IV playoffs.

Second-seeded Hilmar (37-8) will host No. 6 Ripon in a semifinal match on Tuesday.

“We’re working really hard. We want to bring home that blue banner this year,” said Yellowjackets star Emily Baptista, who led with 18 kills. “We want to get back to UC Davis after last year’s upset. We were up two games and lost in the finals.”

Hilmar was on cruise control against the Bruins.

Bear River never threatened late in any of the games as Hilmar coach Patti Harris used only one timeout all night.

Pearce used this match as an opportunity to spread the ball around and keep the Bruins from focusing on Baptista.

As a result, freshman middle blocker Mariah Ahid finished with seven kills on eight attempts and right-side hitter Danielle Couchman also chipped in with seven kills without a hitting error.

“Everyone is going to key on Emily,” Harris said. “She’s our go-to finisher. If I was coaching on the other side I would stack up against her. I’d push my middle over toward her and set my defense against her. If we can spread the ball, it leaves our other hitters an opportunity to hit against one blocker.”

Pearce knows she can always go to Baptista, whether the 6-foot-2 outside hitter is in the back or front, at any time. The Yellowjackets leaned on Baptista early as she recorded six kills in Hilmar’s final 10 points of the opening game.

Baptista only had five kills in each of the last two games. Instead it was Ahid, Couchman and Whitney Williams carrying more of the load.

“Tonight, it wasn’t just Emily and that’s important,” Pearce said. “They all stack on Emily all the time. If I can spread it around to our other hitters, I can split their block and everyone can show what they can do, like tonight.”

The Yellowjackets can now turn their attention to Trans-Valley League rival Ripon, which Hilmar defeated twice in league play, 3-1 and 3-0.

“There’s pros and cons to playing Ripon,” Harris said. “We know their hitters and we know how they play. The cons are every time we play Ripon and Escalon we never go in thinking, ‘Oh, we got this.’ Those games are never easy.”

Blue banners don’t come easy.

▪ Oakmont 3, Golden Valley 1 in Roseville – The Cougars (27-14) turned in a better effort in the second round but fell to the top seed in Division II 25-20, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15. Belen Castillo paced Golden Valley with 29 kills, five blocks, 15 digs and two aces.

▪ Stone Ridge Christian 3, Sacramento Country Day 1 in Sacramento – Rachel Kaler turned in a monster performance with 24 kills and eight aces as the Knights defeated the Cavaliers 25-19, 25-18, 24-26, 25-17 to secure their second section final appearance.

Justine Dejager added 10 kills and Tara Silva dished out 23 assists for SRC (14-2).

Stone Ridge Christian will face Turlock Christian in the Division VI championship next Friday at UC Davis at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s final won by the Eagles.

This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Hilmar volleyball cruises past Bear River, into semifinals."