Buhach Colony upset in the volleyball playoffs. El Capitan, Le Grand advance.

Cameron Gray had to wipe away tears. Fellow senior Mallory Pazin did as well. Seniors are never ready for that final loss, signaling the end to their high school careers.

That loss came for No. 5 seed Buhach Colony on Tuesday night with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 loss to No. 12 Vacaville in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II volleyball playoffs at the Thunder Dome.

“It’s just disappointing,” Gray said. “It’s sad as a senior. I started as a freshman, wanting to win a state title for four years and not getting it.”

After winning their first Central California Conference title since 2007 with a perfect 12-0 run through the conference, the Thunder players took the early playoff exit hard. Especially after making runs to the NorCal playoffs the last two seasons.

“Obviously it hurts,” said Buhach Colony coach Adrienne Beltrami. “I don’t blame them for being upset. We were definitely looking forward to playing on Thursday, but I told them to be proud of what they did, going 12-0 and winning a CCC championship. They put their year on the banner for the first time since 2007 and they should be proud of that.”

The Thunder came out and took the early advantage by winning the first game.

However, Vacaville made adjustments and picked up their energy level the final three games. The Bulldogs went on the attack and the Thunder had a tough time responding.

Vacaville middleblocker Sam Wasielewski led the way with 14 kills, five blocks and four aces. Setter Kayla Somontan guided the offense with 20 assists and two aces.

Beltrami tried different players in the back row in an attempt to find the right combination, but the Thunder (16-11) couldn’t sustain momentum.

“Vacaville is a very well-coached team and they saw where they needed to execute the ball and they did that,” Beltrami said. “We made the adjustments, but not consistently.”

Gray and Miranda Baptista led BC with 12 kills each. They both led on defense too with Gray finishing with 16 digs and Baptista adding 14 digs. Mallory Pazin chipped in with 13 digs.

“(Vacaville) had a lot of energy and they used it to their advantage,” Gray said. “They capitalized on our errors. When I was in the back row, they had a strong hitter in the front row and they took advantage of it.”

The loss was hard to take, but Gray says the Thunder had a memorable season.

“It was so much fun,” she said. “I think we were one of the most competitive groups that Buhach Colony has ever seen.”

El Capitan 3, Oakdale 0 in Merced – The No. 6 Gauchos opened the Division III playoffs with 25-21, 25-14, 25-18 win over the Mustangs. El Capitan will travel to Sacramento on Thursday to face No. 3 Christian Brothers on Thursday.

Central Catholic 3, Merced 0 in Modesto – The top-seeded Raiders swept the No. 16 Bears 25-14, 25-17, 25-17 in the first round of the Division III playoffs. Merced had to defeat Los Banos on Monday to reach the first round. The Bears defeated Los Banos 25-19, 25-15, 25-15 behind 11 kills from Ellie Hamm and 10 kills from Kara Cruz. Vanessa Perez added 29 assists against the Tigers.

Le Grand 3, Millennium 0 in Le Grand – The No. 4 seed Bulldogs dispatched of No. 13 Falcons 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 in the first round of the Division V playoffs. Priscilla Barnett finished with 10 kills and four blocks for Le Grand. Alexa Ultreras added nine kills and five aces.

Le Grand will host No. 5 Holt Academy on Thursday in the second round.

Boys Water Polo

Merced 21, Atwater 9 in Atwater – Vincent Arroyo scored seven goals to lead the Bears past the Falcons at Buhach Colony High. Nick Eckles added three goals and seven steals and Easton Hamm scored three goals and added five steals for the Bears.