REEDLEY – Reedley’s journey through the playoffs continued as they played Golden West in a game that had its fair share of screams and shouts at the Reedley High Gym.
The No.4 seed Pirates had to dip into their bag of tricks to defeat the No.5 seed Trailblazers in a thrilling 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-20, 25-19) in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Central Section Girls Volleyball Championships (Division III) on Oct. 31. With the victory, Reedley now advances to the semifinals.
During the match, Golden West had no treats in store for Reedley as they came out playing a little more aggressive than the Pirates anticipated. At times, Reedley appeared surprised by the Trailblazers game plan.
“They are a team that never quits,” said Reedley head coach Ken Tatami. “Their lineup has changed like ours during the season, but the effort that comes out is always going to be there.”
The Trailblazers thought they had control in the first set. They caught Reedley off guard with an offensive attack that included plenty of hits in the middle and corners of the court. The Pirates appeared stunned at first, not knowing how to counter Golden West.
But then, the Pirates collected their composure and mounted a rally. All of sudden, Golden West started to lose their composure by committing some costly mistakes. Once the Pirates tied the score at 22-22, the wheels started to come off Golden West’s wagon. The powerful play that fueled the Trailblazers failed them down the stretch.
The Trailblazers jumped out in front of the Pirates once again in the second set. They continued to use aggressive play to build an early 9-6 lead. But then, the Pirates mounted another rally. Aryssa Baca’s hit to the corner gave Reedley their first lead at 17-16. When the Pirates extended their lead to 21-18, they never looked back.
“Sometimes, it’s our mistakes that cause them to get out in front of us,” said Tatami. “You sort of clean those things up, our defense picked up and we started to read their hitters a lot better.”
With their mistakes cleaned up and their energy restored, Reedley decided to go on the attack.
Reedley started to blaze their path to victory by jumping out in front in the third set. And while the Trailblazers did their best to mount one last stand, the Pirates overwhelmed Golden West with faster ball movement and key serves by libero Jocelyn Rodriguez.
“She played great, she covered and started reading a lot of the hitters,” said Tatami. “But I think you see her getting the ball up and that keeps us in the play.”
With their scary comeback victory officially in the books, Reedley now has a chance to avenge last season’s semi finals loss to rival Kingsburg. Only this time, the Pirates will play No.1 seed Porterville on Nov. 5.
As for the Trailblazers, their attempt to return to the semifinals comes to a disappointing end. Last season, Golden West swept Dinuba out of the Division IV quarter finals 3-0; however, they eventually met the same fate against Fresno Christian in the semifinals.
When Reedley last played against Golden West, they opened their season on Aug. 15 with a tough but convincing 3-1 victory. And now, at the end of the season, the Pirates expected to receive the best from a Trailblazers team that doesn’t know how to quit.
