Golden Valley survives five-game marathon against Buhach Colony

With the match on the line in the fifth game, Abbee Croninger was on the sideline, itching to get in. The Golden Valley junior could only watch and hope the Cougars could score the next point, which would allow her to rotate in.

Croninger got her opportunity.

The Cougars promptly set their 6-foot-2 middleblocker three consecutive plays against Buhach Colony, and she came through with three kills to help Golden Valley erase a 14-11 deficit and extend the match before eventually winning 20-18 to finish off a thrilling 25-23, 30-32, 25-21, 24-26, 20-18 win on Monday night at the Thunder Dome.

“It was very intense,” said Croninger, who finished with a career-high 24 kills to go along with three blocks. “I couldn’t help yelling. I want the team to do great and I know they can do it without me, but you always want to go play.”

Buhach Colony (1-2 Central California Conference) and Golden Valley (1-2) engaged in a nail-biter from the start.

The Cougars stormed back from a 22-16 deficit late in game one by scoring nine of the final 10 points to win 25-23. Croninger delivered four kills down the stretch.

In game two, it was the Thunder’s turn to rally late as it erased a 23-18 GV lead with five consecutive points to tie the game at 23-23. The teams then battled back and forth before Buhach Colony emerged with a 32-30 win to tie the match at 1-1.

The Thunder got solid performances from outside hitters Jessica Pinasco (10 kills), Sarah Clarot (nine kills) and middleblocker Karissas Jacobsen (three blocks).

“They fought really hard,” Buhach Colony coach Kuuipolani Braceros said. “I’m very proud of them.”

The Cougars were playing their first match with junior setter Karen Kale, who had to sit out 30 days after transferring from Atwater.

Kale did well, finishing with 52 assists. Naomi Peterson came up with some big kills in key spots for the Cougars as she finished with a career-high 12 kills. Kendra Barroso (nine kills) and Stephanie Moore (eight kills and three blocks) also played well. Libero Felicya Zuniga played well in the back row, recording 51 digs.

“Having Karen was kind of a domino effect,” Golden Valley coach Matt Thissen said. “It allowed us to move Felicya Zuniga back to her natural position (libero). Overall, we knew it would make us stronger. The question was how long would it take for us to adapt to the lineup in a game situation?

“I thought all our hitters took really good swings and I thought Karen put the ball on the money.”

After the two teams split games three and four, the momentum continued to swing back and forth in the fifth game. Golden Valley jumped out to a 6-3 lead to force Braceros to call an early timeout.

The Thunder answered to tie the match at 6-6. There were nine ties in the fifth game as the gym went silent before each serve and erupted after each point.

Buhach Colony used a 5-0 run to open up a 14-11 lead but couldn’t finish off the Cougars. That allowed Croninger to return to the front row, and she sparked Golden Valley’s comeback.

“She’s worked hard to develop her volleyball skills,” Thissen said. “She’s a young lady who doesn’t play club ball. She played travel basketball during the summer. The limited time she’s been with us, she’s worked hard to become that go-to player for us.”

After Golden Valley took a 15-14 lead, both teams exchanged points until the Cougars finally scored the final two to win 20-18 to earn their first CCC victory.

“This group is trying to earn a playoff spot,” Thissen said. “We definitely need to take care of any team not named Pitman or Turlock. This was huge to get that zero out of the wins column.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Golden Valley survives five-game marathon against Buhach Colony."