In the zone: Behind Baptista, No. 2 Hilmar spikes Ripon

The game slows down for superstars.

Shooting guards feel like they’re suddenly pitching peas through a hula hoop. Running backs can see the hole before the snap. And sluggers square up even the nastiest of pitches like they’ve been placed on a tee.

It’s called “the zone” and Hilmar outside hitter Emily Baptista lives there most nights in the Trans-Valley League.

For the two-time TVL player of the year, that moment of standstill usually occurs at the height of an intense match or a long rally.

She can see the block and the weaknesses in the defense. She can sense the crowd begging for a blast. There’s the set, the lift, the perfect arm swing and finally …

Boom!

“When I go up, I know everyone on my team is counting on me to get a big swing, so I go in looking to hit hard and around the block,” Baptista said following a 3-1 victory over Ripon on Wednesday.

“At this level, after all these years of playing, it’s gotten easier for me to see holes in the block. As the game progresses, the girls are getting bigger and bigger, so the block is getting bigger and bigger. It gets easier to see those holes and put a good swing on the ball.”

Baptista finished with 22 kills and two aces as the defending TVL champions dispatched a chief threat to their throne with a 25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17 victory.

The Yellowjackets have fortified their No. 2 ranking in The Modesto Bee’s small-school poll with a championship run at the Oakdale tournament last weekend and now a convincing victory over Ripon.

Hannah Pearce had 36 assists, Avery Martin collected 37 digs and Mariah Ahid had five blocks as Hilmar (19-5, 4-0) stretched its league winning streak to 31 matches.

“Our offense really has it together, but we’ve been working on our defense to back it up. We believe our defense will win games,” Baptista said. “They had some solid hitters. We hadn’t really seen that. Ripon is really well-rounded and everyone can hit, so we had to keep our defense solid.”

Ripon outside hitter Samantha McCreath tested the Yellowjackets’ mettle. McCreath had 18 kills and hammered home the final points in the Indians’ lone victory.

Setter Lauren Weibe had a match-high 38 assists, but Ripon’s serve and serve-receive failed them late. The Indians are 0-2 against the TVL’s upper crust – Hilmar and Escalon.

Ripon lost a five-game thriller last week in Escalon. The Indians led their longtime rival 2-1.

On Wednesday, Hilmar left nothing to chance. The two teams split the first two games. After Ripon shot out to a 3-0 lead in Game 3, Hilmar coach Patti Harris put Baptista in the zone, feeding the ball to the Pacific-bound star.

The 6-foot-2 senior punished Ripon with a series of cross-court kills and sparked a decisive 9-3 run that turned the match.

At one point, Hilmar’s rowdy student section verbalized the mood inside Strom Gym. “She’s on fire,” came the cry after Baptista finished down the line to make it 18-12.

“She’s the star attraction. She puts that thing down. I’ve always called her ‘The Finisher,’ ” Harris said. “When I want that game done, when I want that point, we go to her. Period.”

While Baptista is the main attraction for a program ascending to rock star status on a campus of about 600, she is far from alone. In seven years, Harris has built a small empire by keeping the pipeline stocked with young talent.

Her varsity roster features sophomores in starring roles – setter Pearce and middle blocker Ahid were all-TVL selections last fall – and her junior varsity team is buoyed by three freshmen.

Harris said there are three eighth-graders with junior national experience itching to join the program.

“I’ve got a solid base. We’re constantly pulling kids up and we just try to build on that. These kids can handle it,” Harris said. “This community has some really good athletes. They grow them well out here. There is this constant feeding into our program. It’s been a nice growth.”

The growth has been chronicled by championships and milestones.

Hilmar has had back-to-back, unbeaten runs to league titles, closing each season with a heartbreaking loss to Sonora in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV final. The close calls have fueled their determination this season – the Yellowjackets’ last with Baptista picking apart defenses.

“This was a big match. In the TVL, it’s Ripon, Hilmar and Escalon battling it out all the time,” Harris said. “We played well tonight. It was a good match for us. Having a Division I player and a really good supporting staff, that’s what makes it work for us.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 9:11 PM with the headline "In the zone: Behind Baptista, No. 2 Hilmar spikes Ripon."