Sonora’s depth and defense deny Yellowjackets in title game

There haven’t been too many times in her career that Emily Baptista has been held to single-digit kills.

The reigning Sun-Star Volleyball Player of the year unloads on the ball like few in Merced County can. And Hilmar happily rides its big gun early and often as opponents can seldom do anything about it.

Sonora proved to be an exception. The veteran defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champs rarely allowed the Yellowjackets a clean hit all Friday evening, either getting a piece at the net or finding a way to keep it alive in the back row.

The defensive effort frustrated Hilmar and got Patti Harris’ squad out of their game as Sonora defended its title with a 25-14, 25-8, 25-7 sweep at ARC Arena on the UC Davis campus.

It is the Wildcats’ second straight blue banner at the expense of the Yellowjackets.

“We knew going in that their defense was tight,” Harris said. “They have an awesome libero and our plan going in was to hit it away from her. We didn’t do a great job of that.

“With us being so young, I knew coming in that we had to be on and nearly flawless to win. We weren’t.”

The Wildcats (33-5) had the benefit of seven seniors and nine returners from last year’s title team. The experience and depth showed as Sonora went on a number of long runs.

Sonora took the opening set, but Hilmar (38-9) bounced back taking a quick 6-4 lead in Set 2. The Wildcats took control of the match from there, closing out the second set with an impressive 21-2 run.

Freshman Riley Patterson led the attack recording a match-high 12 kills to go along with her 12 digs. Angela Gardena (eight kills), Shannon Friend (seven kills) and Kelsie Evans (seven kills) all were big contributors as well as the Wildcats spread the ball around offensively.

“That was very disappointing,” said senior setter Haylee Pearce, who had a team-high 16 assists. “I feel like everyone got in their heads too much. We got down on ourselves and stopped communicating, just stopped playing like how we are capable.

“They’re a very strategic team, and they got us really frustrated by keeping so many plays alive.”

Baptista (team-high nine kills) tried to mount a rally in the third set, but the junior could never get a rhythm. Sonora raced out to an 11-4 lead and quickly brought home its second straight blue banner with a 25-7 win.

“Teams go through up years and down years, and this was definitely a major up year for us,” Sonora coach Kim Evans said. “This is probably the ultimate team that I’ve ever had. We don’t have any standout players, just six girls that go out and play for each other.

“I think that’s the reason we’re able to keep so many plays alive, because they work so well together.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Sonora’s depth and defense deny Yellowjackets in title game."