FRESNO – Sanger came into its non-conference match against Hoover riding a six game winning streak. Standing in their way of a seventh consecutive victory was a Hoover squad that has played better than their record indicates.
The Apaches shook off some chaotic play in the second set and held on to defeat the pesky Patriots 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-12) at the Hoover Event Center on Oct. 3. The Apaches are now 15-9 on the season while the Patriots fall to 10-14.
The Apaches came out of the gate fast by scoring five of the first six points of the game. But the Patriots stuck around to make the first set interesting. A powerful kill by Avery Roberson cut the score to 8-5. But then, Sanger scored six of the next seven points to increase their lead to 14-6.
“There were moments where we played very clean, and then moments where we didn’t control the chaos very well,” said Apaches head coach Sierra LeBeau.
The chaos almost doomed the Apaches in the second set. The Patriots stormed out to an early 6-0 lead before the Apaches scored their first point on a spike. The Apaches struggled with their serves and were stunned by the Patriots aggressive play at the beginning of the set.
“We missed a lot of serves tonight,” said LeBeau. “When we start missing serves, we kind of fall into a chaotic game.”
The Apaches put their early struggles behind them, regained their composure and mounted a comeback that stunned the Patriots. The passes were better and that set them up for more shots that the Patriots couldn’t defend.
“We didn’t pass very well, and once we don’t pass well, the rest of our game tends to crumble,” said LeBeau.
The Apaches comeback started with the score tied 12-12. A point off a kill and an unsuccessful dig attempt by the Patriots gave the Apaches a 14-12 lead. A successful block by Samantha Guerra increased the lead to 18-14. And before the Patriots knew it, they suddenly fell behind 21-17.
Having learned from their brief scare in the second set, the Apaches weren’t going to take the Patriots for granted in the third set. Sanger took a quick 6-0 lead before the Patriots scored two of the next three points on an assist and a kill by Roberson. Later in the set, another kill by Roberson cut the Apaches lead to 13-7 and a thunderous strike by Bellatrix Braun made the score 13-9.
“Number 10 (Roberson) has a tough swing, so that was something we noticed too,” said LeBeau.
The Patriots did their best to mount one last comeback, but they sealed their fate with more errors and bad shots. A Braun spike into the net made the score 20-11. After that, the Patriots had little left in the tank for a comeback.
This tough road win for the Apaches keeps the win streak alive. And that is important as three of the next four games for Sanger are on the road.
“I’m stoked. I think we’ve been playing really clean and very well,” said LeBeau. “I’m excited to take that in whatever league match or league team we’re playing, home or away.”
The Apaches will shoot for an eighth consecutive win when they play at Justin Garza on Oct. 8.
