Photos by Henry Barrios
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BY STEPHEN LYNCH
Leading two games to none, the Mira Monte volleyball team fell behind 20-10 in Game 3 of its Central Section Division 4 quarterfinal volleyball match against Porterville on Tuesday night.
For a lot of teams, it would have been time to pack it in, conserve energy, and regroup for the next set.
Not the Lions with their championship pedigree.
The reigning three-time Southeast Yosemite League title holders gave it everything they had and battled back to win Game 3, sweeping the visiting Panthers out of the playoffs 25-19, 25-23, 27-25.
“That’s how their personality is,” Mira Monte coach Jenae Long said. “They don’t want to give up. They’re not used to giving up. They’re used to pushing through, fighting to the very last point. It’s exciting to watch as a coach. Watching how they come together. What they say. What they do to show what they’re all about.”
The victory earned the third-seeded Mira Monte (24-10-2) a spot in the D4 semifinals for a second straight year. The Lions will travel to face No. 2 Kingsburg on Thursday. The Vikings registered a 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Highland on Tuesday.
Last year Mira Monte, the top-seed in D4, was beaten in the section semifinals by eventual runner-up Reedley-Immanuel. Despite that setback the Lions were invited to play in the state tournament and went on to win their first-round match, becoming the first sports team of any kind in Mira Monte school history to record a state playoff victory.
This time around Mira Monte wants to win a section championship.
The victory over a young but talented Porterville squad was a big step toward achieving that goal.
The Lions took advantage of numerous hitting errors by the Panthers (15-15) to win the first set without much trouble. Tied 7-7, Mira Monte senior captain Esmerelda Vasquez started a 4-0 run with a two-hand push shot that landed between several Porterville defenders. After that the Lions maintained a two point or larger lead the rest of the game. A Vasquez kill followed by a Porterville hitting error eventually clinched the Game 1 victory for Mira Monte.
Game 2 started off like it was going to be a blowout as the Lions raced out to a 12-4 lead behind the strong play of 6-foot senior middle blocker Emily Hernandez, who had three kills and a block early in the set.
However, some shaky ballhandling and inaccurate hitting by Mira Monte combined with solid play by Porterville allowed the Panthers to erase the eight-point deficit and take a 20-19 on an errant kill attempt by Mira Monte.
The Lions responded by scoring the next two points and went on to escape with a narrow victory, capped off by a perfectly placed tip shot by Hernandez.
Game 3 unfolded in an almost exact opposite way of Game 2. This time Porterville jumped out to a big lead, only to have Mira Monte climb back into contention. Trailing 20-10, the Lions went on 8-0 run fueled by three straight Hernandez kills.
Later, tied 25-25, Mira Monte completed the improbable comeback with back-to-back kills by Samara Bolanos and Hernandez
In total the Lions outscored the Panthers 17-5 after falling behind by 10 points in the third set.
“Somehow, I don’t know, we worked as a team and we got the momentum back,” Vasquez said. “…It’s extremely exciting. It was a very competitive game. It’s more enjoyable when it’s a competitive game because you feel like you won then.”
Hernandez had a match-high 18 kills and two blocks.
A lot of her kills came via soft directional shots.
“Sometimes the game isn’t about all the power, it’s about being smart,” Hernandez said. “So, you just have to be able to pull those of and get points for your team.”
Vasquez tallied five kills and 15 digs and Bolanos recorded 27 assists two aces and six digs for Mira Monte, which extended it winning streak to five matches.
“I told my girls that this might not have been the best volleyball they’ve ever played, but it’s the best they’ve ever played as a team, Long said. “Every single person on that court, every single person on that bench had a job to do and they did it to the best they could tonight, which is awesome.”
Porterville coach Lisa Davis felt her team didn’t come close to playing its best.
“Too many hitting errors,” Davis said. “We had a hard time finding the court hitting-wise tonight. Why? I don’t know…Just one of those nights where the hitting gods weren’t with us. I’m really proud of my three seniors that were out on the court…The three of them, with their experience and stuff, had a lot of good energy but the younger ones, the inexperience showed tonight.”
Photos by Henry Barrios
