Patterson High’s varsity volleyball team earned its third Western Athletic Conference win of the season the hard way on Monday, Oct. 22.

The Tigers overcame a two-set disadvantage for a five-game victory over the visiting Ceres High Bulldogs.

“Once we got our momentum going, we saw that we could win,” said Patterson coach Tarah High. “We played like we practice. There was consistent passing, some good sets, and our hitting was solid.”

Patterson (3-7 WAC) won the match with set scores of 21-25, 22-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-10.

The Tigers showed some fight in the third game to turn the match around. They took a nine-point lead in Game 3 and were up 23-14 before shutting the door on the Bulldogs.

“We realized that we were better than the way we played in the first two sets,” said Patterson junior Kiara Job. “Our biggest improvement was our passing. Once we got that down, we were able to play cohesively.”

Junior Mele Tupouata led the Tigers’ attack with 22 kills, while Job and Karina Villafana turned in 10 and six. Sophomore Bailey Boschi dished out 20 assists and Samantha Ruiz had 12.

“Playing from a deficit drove us to play better,” Job said.

Villafana also recorded 22 digs, and juniors Emma Dallimore and Maria Cortez picked up 16 and 15. Tupouata added eight blocks for Patterson.

“Right now, we’re preparing for next season,” High said. “We’ve seen the potential and the growth this year. We’ve improved tremendously.”

Junior varsity

The JV Tigers improved to 7-3 in WAC play with a sweep of Ceres.

Patterson defeated the Bulldogs 2-0 with set scores of 25-21, 25-20.

“We’re really gelling together as a team,” said Patterson coach Judy Dodd. “The players are good learners who are eager to absorb the game.”

Contributions were evenly spread around for the Tigers.

Cassie Santelices paced the attack with 10 aces to go with five assists; Julia Sill swatted four kills; Kianna Garza recorded six digs; and Gabby Maldonado collected four blocks.

Freshmen

Patterson’s freshman team was outgunned in its tilt with Ceres, falling in straight sets.

The Bulldogs took the match with set scores of 25-12, 25-9.

Contact Marc Aceves at 892-6187, ext. 28, or marc@pattersonirrigator.com.