‘You have no idea what this means.’ Buhach Colony celebrates first title since 2007.
The Buhach Colony High volleyball was almost frozen for a second. The Thunder players were stuck in limbo, not sure whether to celebrate or to get ready for the next point after Maggie Seifert hit a ball down the line for a potential game-winning point.
It wasn’t until the line judge signaled the ball was tipped that the Thunder players began celebrating their first Central California Conference championship since 2007 with a 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20 victory over El Capitan on Monday night in front of a large crowd at the Stable Center.
“At first I didn’t know if the ball went out,” said Buhach Colony senior Cameron Gray. “I was looking at the line judge and when he made the (touch signal), I exploded. I just exploded.”
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The Thunder (15-9 overall, 11-0 CCC) had to dig deep to end their 11-year championship drought.
El Capitan didn’t make anything easy and the large crowd, which included many students, created a championship atmosphere.
“Nothing came easy,” Gray said. “(El Capitan) played so clean. They knew exactly where our weaknesses were. We played our heart out and had to go for it.”
The Thunder came out a lot more relaxed than they did in the first league matchup against the Guachos (17-7, 10-2 CCC). In the first matchup, it took a game for Buhach Colony to settle in.
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The Thunder came out strong on Monday and kept the pressure on El Capitan.
“That’s what sports are about,” said Buhach Colony coach Adrienne Beltrami. “We learned from that first match. We’ve grown and matured.”
The Thunder used a 4-0 run to take a 19-14 lead and then closed the first game with a 6-1 run to take the 1-0 lead. Seifert recorded three of her six aces in the first game. Miranda Baptista also delivered a kill and an ace late to help close out the game.
The Thunder received contributions from their entire rotation.
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Gray led with 14 kills and Baptista added 12 kills and led with 16 digs. Middleblocker Morgan Johnson chipped in with seven kills and three blocks.
Mallory Pazin orchestrated the office from her setter position, finishing with 25 assists. Libero Leanne Melo played well in the back row with 14 digs and Seifert added nine kills to go with her six aces.
“Since day one this has been their goal to win the league,” Beltrami said. “I’m just really proud of them. El Cap was ready for us. They played a really good match. They executed well. Our girls were ready for this. They executed our game plan and adjusted when needed.”
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The Gauchos rebounded to win game two 25-21. Captains Paige Martin and Robin Helms led the way as Helms had a key block and kill early to help El Capitan build a 9-2 lead. Martin came through to a couple big kills late after Buhach Colony pulled even.
The Thunder were just two strong late in the final two games.
Bapitista recorded four kills during BC’s 9-3 run that gave the Thunder a 22-17 lead in game three. It was Seifert coming up big late in game four with three kills down the stretch to close out the match.
The elusive CCC championship finally belongs to the Thunder.
“You have no idea what this means,” Gray said. “We’ve been looking at that 2007 up on the banner every day at practice. Every year we got closer to winning. This is such a great team-bonding moment.”