MODESTO — The Patterson High volleyball team stepped on the court Oct. 21 to face the Western Athletic Conference’s first-place team, Central Catholic, and refused to give up without a fight.

After three hard-fought games, however, Central Catholic prevailed 25-17, 25-16, 25-20.

“We didn’t play bad,” Patterson coach Jennifer Hamm said. “We actually came out and gave Central Catholic a run for their money at times.”

From the opening moments of the match, Patterson used strong and steady play to keep Central Catholic’s fans on edge.

The Tigers (5-14 overall, 3-8 WAC) scored four straight points in the early stages of the first game to tie the score at 5-5. Central Catholic (11-4, 10-1) responded by scoring seven straight points, but Patterson would not give in. Dani Hansen and Stephanie Cantu made two kills each to help the Tigers battle back to 13-8 before the Raiders eventually claimed the opening game.

“It all comes down to being able to build and hold onto a lead,” Hamm said. “We wanted to keep the momentum on our side.”

Realizing that Patterson would not hand over the match, Central Catholic stepped up its attack in the second and third games.

Aggressive hitting and serving led the Raiders to a victory in game two and to a 14-7 lead in the final game. But the Tigers hung on at match point. Four times, Patterson succeeded in earning the side out, thanks to consistent team-wide digging and hitting, before the Raiders scored the last point to claim the game.

Hansen led the Tigers with four kills and four aces. Manpreet Grewal added nine digs and three assists, Stephanie Barazza tallied seven digs and Jade Ruiz had three assists and three aces.

Hamm said she was content with the way her team played in defeat.

“We came out swinging on our hits and actually served the ball a lot better then we have in a while,” she said. “Hardly did we miss a serve on a pressure situation.”