Torres falls to CMAC’s Bullard in three sets
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Matilda Torres’ Alexis Barriga reaches up for a block attempt during Tuesday’s loss to the Bullard Knights. She led the Toros with five kills and had two solo blocks.
Matilda Torres Toros girls volleyball coach Adam Horner wanted to give his team an early-season test to gauge where they were at and how they will respond.
After a three-set sweep to the Bullard-Fresno Knights of the County/Metro Athletic Conference, Horner was pleased with what he saw.
“I was enthused with what I saw today,” he said. “Even the two sets the score didn’t look great, they still played well. Playing these tough team will help their confidence going into league. We have a tough preseason and we did okay. We’ll get better.”
The Toros are based in Div. V for the Central Section playoffs while the Knights are set in Div. II. Despite the difference, the Toros nearly pulled out the third set of a 25-10, 25-9, 25-23 sweep.
“I changed the line-up in the third set and they stepped up,” Horner said. “Bullard played tough. Our defense was really good. If we can feed off the defense and run the offense out of it, we’ll start winning some matches.”
Alexis Barriga and Sabrina Cerrillo led the Toros with five kills each. However, the Toros only put down 14 kills in the match.
“We served aggressive today,” Horner said. “We changed our defense a little the other day. I think it put them in good positions to make plays.”
The Toros got an early diving bump kill from Catalina Norwood for a side out. However, Bullard got the side out and served up eight straight points before a missed serve gave the Toros the side out.
Barriga recorded a solo block and a kill for the Toros. Bullard got the side out and scored four more points before a Barriga side out kill.
She added another kill and Larissa Delgado had a solo block to cut the lead to nine.
Bullard scored the next seven points before a side out. Delgado served up an ace and another point to get to double digits. However, Bullard put down a pair of kills for a 25-10 win.
In the second set, a pair of Cerrillo kills and an Aida Aquino ace led to a 3-1 Toros’ lead.
Bullard got the side out and took the lead with a four-point run. After another trade in side outs, they scored three more potions for a 9-4 lead.
Bryance Gonzalez got the side out with a solo block, but the Knights got the serve right back and scored eight straight points.
The teams traded four straight side outs before Bullard added three more points to its lead before a Cerrillo side out kill. She added another kill after a Toros’ missed serve, but the Knights got a kill on set point for a 25-9 win.
The Toros battled tougher in the third set. Samaria Benavidez served up two points for the arly lead. Cerrillo also served up two points, with a Gonzalez kill for a 5-1 lead.
Benavidez recorded a bump kill and the Toros led 7-2. Bullard got the side out and scored three straight points for a 7-6 Toros lead.
The teams exchanged side outs and Bullard scored six straight points for a 13-10 lead. They added two more points to get the lead up to four.
However, Gonzalez got a side out kill and Cerrillo served up an ace in a three-point run to tie the set at 16.
Bullard got the side out and scored three straight points before a Torres side out.
Barriga put down a kill to cut the lead to two before a Bullard side out. The teams exchanged three straight side outs before Barriga served up two points, including a Cerrillo kill, to tie the set at 22 and force Bullard to call its first time out of the match.
The Knights got the side out with a kill, but Ariana Varela got the serve back with a side out kill. The Knights ended the match with a pair of kills for a 25-23 win.
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