FRESNO – For the first time in school history, a Sanger High School sports program has claimed a state championship.
On May 29 inside the Fresno City College Gymnasium, the Sanger boys volleyball team battled Francis Parker (San Diego) for the Division II CIF State Championship. Every set was a battle, with both teams demonstrating they had championship grit and spirit. But in the end, it was the Sanger Apaches who stood tall as they won 3-1 (29-27, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20) to claim the school’s first state championship.
“To win it for the first time is just huge, not only for our team but for our town and for our high school,” said senior outside hitter Isaac Herrera.
With the state title, the Apaches wrapped up their season with an overall record of 33-13. Despite that impressive mark, the Apaches saw themselves as underdogs all season that needed to prove their naysayers wrong.
“People didn’t expect a whole lot from us this year,” Sanger head coach Scott Okada said. “They just kept working and here we are, which I don’t think anyone saw coming so I’m proud of them.”
In the state playoffs, the young Apaches grew up quickly as they dispatched Woodcreek 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 27-29, 25-21) and Laguna Creek 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-21) to open the tournament. And they further demonstrated their maturity as they upset Granite Bay 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23) on the road in the Northern Regional Final to advance to the state title match.
“As we got into regionals, I felt like things were starting to click the way we had hoped,” Okada said. “Mostly they just started believing and so I think as they went on each round, they felt more and more like they could really do it.”
And the Apaches needed that belief against a tough Lancer squad in the state title match. Through each set, the Apaches and Lancers battled back and forth with neither team creating much separation on the scoreboard. The first two sets were especially grueling as both contests went over the 25-point threshold to decide a winner.
In the opening set, it looked like the Lancers were about to take the contest as they led 26-25. But the Apaches dug deep and finished strong to win the set 29-27 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. As they grinded out that set, junior outside hitter Sebastian Salazar credits the team’s chemistry for putting them over the edge.
“It was all of us combined, calming down and controlling our emotions,” Salazar said. “If we get too riled up, then we all fall apart. If one person just breaks down, it’s the whole team so we all came together as one, talked it out for a few seconds and we got back together and just pushed through.”
The second set was another grind, but the Lancers came out on top this time with a 28-26 victory. The Lancers demonstrated their size during this contest, as the 6-foot-10-inch Kevin O’Brien and 6-foot-6-inch Miles Custer gave their team a spark.
“We knew we had to deal with that middle and (O’Brien is) huge,” Okada said. “But we had a game plan and we found a way to make it hard for him.”
With the match now tied 1-1, the teams battled in the third to take the lead in the match. After the teams fought it out to a 22-22 stalemate, the Apaches went on a 3-0 run to pull out the victory. The fourth followed a similar tune, as the game was tied 17-17 before the Apaches finished strong to win the set that wrapped up the match.
As the Apaches celebrated their school’s first state title, they did so in front of a sizable and raucous Sanger crowd that made the short drive to central Fresno.
“It feels amazing, seeing all these people – the faces I know and new faces – just coming to support (us),” Salazar said about the crowd. “I just know how much love and support everybody’s giving to their one team in Sanger.”
This state title run caps off a run of dominance for the Sanger boys volleyball program. Over the past five seasons, the Apaches dominated the Central Valley with an overall record of 180-51. And now with a state title, the Apaches’ war cry will be heard statewide.
“We’ve always been on the map, but now it’s like, ‘Oh shoot, those guys just won,’” Herrera said. “So now everybody’s gonna think about us a little differently because we’re actually a (state) winning program.”
