Merced, Buhach Colony, El Capitan volleyball all tied atop CCC after Bears win thriller
The Merced High girls volleyball team snapped a 37-year championship drought when the Bears won the Central California Conference title this past spring.
Merced now can win a share of its second CCC championship in four months.
The Bears created a three-way tie atop the CCC standings after roaring back to defeat Buhach Colony 22-25, 17-25, 25-8, 26-24, 15-13 on Tuesday night.
Merced, Buhach Colony and El Capitan are all tied at 9-2 in the CCC with one match remaining.
“Given the circumstances of the last season, we didn’t want people to say it wasn’t a real season because it was a short season,” said Merced coach Patricia Khodikian. “A huge goal of ours was to prove last season wasn’t a fluke. After a couple big wins we’re in a spot to prove it wasn’t a fluke. We had to beat some really good teams.”
The Bears did it in dramatic fashion, overcoming a two-game deficit to win an emotionally charged match.
“It was indescribable,” said Merced senior Vanessa Perez. “It’ll be thinking about it for now on.”
Perez provided the spark for the Bears with her serving in game three.
After the Bears dropped the opening two games, Merced ran off 16 consecutive points with Perez serving to take a 22-6 lead and steal momentum on their side.
“Oh my god, that was crazy,” Perez said. “Everyone was around me. It was a night to remember, especially on senior night.”
Khodikian said the turning point in their season was when the coaching staff decided not to take Perez off the court. She started the season as a setter in the back row, but after losing to Buhach Colony in the first half of the CCC schedule, Khodikian decided to play Perez all the way around, moving her to outside hitter in the front row.
“Since we started playing her all the way around we’re undefeated (6-0),” Khodikian said. “She’s our captain and a huge leader.”
The Bears got contributions across the board during their comeback, including some big plays up front by Kendall Parker, Mackenna Mondo, Becca Lucey, Perez and Leilani Mckenzie and in the back row from Mylah Steverson, Laila Hermosillo and Katelyn Briggs.
After seizing momentum in the third game, the Bears battled their way to wins the the fourth and fifth games.
The Bears had to fight their way back from a 21-19 deficit in the fourth game and staved off a match point at 24-23 before closing out the game with three consecutive points.
The Bears fell behind 8-3 in the fifth game before tying the game at 11-11. They trailed again at 13-11 before winning the final four points.
“All season we’ve had this switch that once we flip that switch we’re almost unstoppable,” Khodikian said. “We haven’t gotten to the point where we know how to flip that switch on all the time, but when we do we play unbelievable.”
Merced will close out the regular season at Golden Valley on Thursday. Buhach Colony closes the season at home against Atwater and El Capitan will travel to Patterson for its final game.
