Photos by Henry Barrios
BY STEPHEN LYNCH
Liberty coach Amy Parker isn’t sure how many girls she played in the Patriots Central Section Division 1 semifinal against Arroyo Grande on Thursday night.
Blessed with a deep and talented roster, Parker just kept subbing in and out of the match one quality player for another.
It was all too much for the visiting Eagles to handle.
Second-seeded Liberty and its seemingly never-ending assembly line of skilled players ultimately prevailed, downing No. 3 Arroyo Grande in four games, 25-10. 20-25, 25-22, 25-22 in front of a boisterous crowd inside the Patriots’ gym.
“I didn’t count but I played probably 10, 11, 12 kids,” Parker said. “I can do that without hesitation. That’s awesome.”
The victory earned Liberty (26-5) a spot in the Central Section D1 final against No. 4 Clovis West on Saturday. The match will be played at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.
It will be Liberty’s first appearance in the D1 title match since they won a section championship in 2016.
The last two years Liberty was knocked of the section playoffs in the semifinals.
Not this time.
Liberty set the tone early, completely dominating the first set, due in equal parts to its own stellar play and Arroyo Grande’s shoddy hitting.
While the Eagles, rarely landed in kill attempts in-bounds, Liberty’s hitters teed off.
Junior setter/right side Carisa Baron led the way in Game 1, recording three kills and an ace.
She finished with seven kills and 10 assists.
The Patriots jumped out a two-point lead in Game 2 before Eagles outside hitter Makenna Wolfe got on a roll, blasting kill shots all over the court.
Trailing 7-5, Wolfe sparked an 8-1 run with four straight points via three kills and a block.
From there Arroyo Grande (27-5) never relinquished the lead the rest of the game.
Tied 1-1, Liberty controlled most of the action early in Game 3. But after leading by as many as five points, the Eagles stormed back to tie things 20-20 on back-to-back kills by Wolfe.
Liberty’s Bryanna Slayton answered Wolfe’s onslaught with a perfectly executed crosscourt kill. Bree Rodriguez, who had a big night patrolling the middle of the net for the Patriots, followed with a huge block of a Wolfe kill attempt.
Moments later a spike by Wolf sailed long and landed out of bounds, clinching Game 3 for Liberty.
Game 4 featured three early lead changes before the Patriots went a 5-0 run, ignited by a Rodriguez blast off a pass from Slayton, to move in front 16-14.
Later a Rodriguez kill followed by an Arroyo Grande hitting error sealed the victory for Liberty, causing the Patriots student section to rush the court and join a raucous post-game celebration.
“We’re so excited,” Slayton said. “We’ve been waiting for this since my freshman year. I didn’t know if it was going to happen. I’m so excited.”
Slayton had six kills, 12 assists, and five aces for Liberty, which extended its winning streak to nine matches.
The reigning five-time Southwest Yosemite League champions are now 2-2 all-time versus Arroyo Grande.
“They’re a great team and it was fun to get to play against a high-level team like them,” Arroyo Grande coach Courtney Zimmermann said. “Unfortunately, this was not our best volleyball, but I have a really good feeling. We’re only graduating three seniors. This is just the start for this group of girls.”
Wolfe finished with a match-high 23 kills.
Nine of them came in Game 2.
Between Games 2 and 3 Liberty devised a plan to neutralize her.
“We started leaving our left side with the middle and then me and the right side would commit-block her,” Rodriguez said. “So, basically, I just scooted over there and cheated a little bit.”
Rodriguez led Liberty in kills (12) and blocks (6).
“The last two years we got beat in the semis,” Rodriguez said. “…We just had that extra drive to win this game and get into that final.”
Slayton, the Patriots primary setter, enjoys the fact that Liberty has such a vast array of offensive weapons like Barron, Rodriguez, and Paige Camarillo, who had seven kills against Arroyo Grande.
“I know that I can go to whatever player,” Slayton said. “I trust everyone on my team. That’s really nice, having an equal balance on the team.”
The Patriots hope their balanced attack will help them win a section championship.
“I have four juniors that played varsity as a freshman,” Parker said. “They’ve lost two semifinals and come up a little bit short. My seniors. They won a Valley championship their freshman year. They’re super excited to be in another one. Hopefully we can work hard enough to get a win.”
