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ENLARGE
Nevada Union's Tessa Butterfield tips the ball over the net against Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills. The Miners' efforts fell short as they lost to Oak Ridge 3-0 at UC Davis Thursday night.
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ENLARGE
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Lady Miners walk off the floor after losing to Oak Ridge.
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DAVIS — Nevada Union's Sac-Joaquin Section record streak of consecutive volleyball championships came to an end Thursday night at UC Davis, as top-seeded Oak Ridge swept the Miners in the Division I title match 3-0.
The loss leaves NU's stamp on the section record book at seven straight titles, while Oak Ridge's 25-19, 25-23, 28-26 win gave the Trojans the Division I crown one year after the team took the Division II title in the same building.
“About the ending of the streak,” NU's lone senior Abbie Miraldi said, “I'm just so honored to have been able to play a part in three of (title matches). Even though the third one didn't end the way we wanted it to.
“But mark my word, these girls will be back for another one.”
The Miners (34-10) took a 2-1 lead in the opening game on a kill by junior Ellie Selleck, but never led again in game one, even though the two teams weren't separated by more than a few points until down the stretch.
Game two was a similar story, as the Miners led 1-0 before falling back by as much as 21-15.
But sophomore middle blocker Jenna Britton came up two blocks and kill to ignite the Miners late, pulling within 22-21 before Oak Ridge fought them off for the 25-23 win.
“We didn't hit the ball in the court,” said NU co-head coach Bob Rogers, pointing to 25 hitting errors on the night.
“In a three-game match, that's about double of what we've been doing.
“That was pretty much the match. We started out with hitting errors and it just didn't get better.”
Game three was clearly the Miners' best of the night, as they battled back and forth with the Trojans to a 11-11 score. Selleck found the floor on two kills, while Madison Heppe and Marnie McDowell each added another — along with four Oak Ridge errors — as Nevada Union moved ahead 19-14.
“And then we hit four or five out in a row,” Rogers said. “That's the hitting errors I'm talking about.”
Four NU errors and an ace by Oak Ridge's Brittney Larsen gave the Trojans a 20-19 lead, but the Miners showed they were game down the stretch.
Another Selleck kill, one of her team-high 18 on the night, brought the MIners to game point at 24-23. But Oak Ridge's Sarah Horning answered with a kill of her own to even things again. From there, Nevada Union fought off the match point two more times, before Lena Buckendorf's tip fell to the floor for the 28-26 final, ending the game, the match and the Miners' record run in the Division I playoffs.
Horning, along with fellow Trojan heavy hitters Katie Vaughn and Kayla Berringer, made things tough on the Miner defense throughout the night. And Oak Ridge's defense held NU's attack in check until late in both games two and three.
“We expected a great match,” said Oak Ridge coach Becky Potter, whose Trojans claimed the school's fourth section volleyball title and its first at the Division I level. “We expected to be just like it was in the third game, scrambling like that at 28-26.
“Everyone has off days. I'm not sure what team I'm going to get until we get out here sometimes, and I think the other coaches might say that, too. But I think as a team have picked up our defense since the last time we saw them.”
The match was the third meeting between the teams this season, with the Trojans taking a nonleague match 3-1 on their home floor and the Miners sweeping the Trojans 2-0 en route to the Super 8 Tournament title.
“I think Oak Ridge came out really strong,” Miraldi said. “And with a young team, you're going to have mistakes in some crucial times that you wish you didn't.
“But I thought the girls did great tonight. I'm proud of them. All I can say is that we'll come back next week and keep going strong.”
Though the section streak might have ended, the Miners' season has not. Nevada Union will open play in the Northern California bracket of the CIF State Volleyball Championship Tournament on Tuesday. Rogers said he expects to be seeded sixth in the bracket, which would mean the Miners would be back on the road for the first round.
“I'm going to be looking for tire stores,” Rogers managed to joke in reference to the more than 800 miles the Miners traveled for the four section playoff games.
As section champion, Oak Ridge will open NorCal play on its home floor in El Dorado Hills.
Though the section championship streak was bound to end at some point, NU co-head coach Larry Peterson said he wasn't sure it couldn't have extended for several more years had the Miners played up to their potential in Thursday's final.
“It's unfortunate that we let this one get away,” he said. “With all the good young players we have, who knows? Maybe we could have put together 10 or 11.”
Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
The loss leaves NU's stamp on the section record book at seven straight titles, while Oak Ridge's 25-19, 25-23, 28-26 win gave the Trojans the Division I crown one year after the team took the Division II title in the same building.
“About the ending of the streak,” NU's lone senior Abbie Miraldi said, “I'm just so honored to have been able to play a part in three of (title matches). Even though the third one didn't end the way we wanted it to.
“But mark my word, these girls will be back for another one.”
The Miners (34-10) took a 2-1 lead in the opening game on a kill by junior Ellie Selleck, but never led again in game one, even though the two teams weren't separated by more than a few points until down the stretch.
Game two was a similar story, as the Miners led 1-0 before falling back by as much as 21-15.
But sophomore middle blocker Jenna Britton came up two blocks and kill to ignite the Miners late, pulling within 22-21 before Oak Ridge fought them off for the 25-23 win.
“We didn't hit the ball in the court,” said NU co-head coach Bob Rogers, pointing to 25 hitting errors on the night.
“In a three-game match, that's about double of what we've been doing.
“That was pretty much the match. We started out with hitting errors and it just didn't get better.”
Game three was clearly the Miners' best of the night, as they battled back and forth with the Trojans to a 11-11 score. Selleck found the floor on two kills, while Madison Heppe and Marnie McDowell each added another — along with four Oak Ridge errors — as Nevada Union moved ahead 19-14.
“And then we hit four or five out in a row,” Rogers said. “That's the hitting errors I'm talking about.”
Four NU errors and an ace by Oak Ridge's Brittney Larsen gave the Trojans a 20-19 lead, but the Miners showed they were game down the stretch.
Another Selleck kill, one of her team-high 18 on the night, brought the MIners to game point at 24-23. But Oak Ridge's Sarah Horning answered with a kill of her own to even things again. From there, Nevada Union fought off the match point two more times, before Lena Buckendorf's tip fell to the floor for the 28-26 final, ending the game, the match and the Miners' record run in the Division I playoffs.
Horning, along with fellow Trojan heavy hitters Katie Vaughn and Kayla Berringer, made things tough on the Miner defense throughout the night. And Oak Ridge's defense held NU's attack in check until late in both games two and three.
“We expected a great match,” said Oak Ridge coach Becky Potter, whose Trojans claimed the school's fourth section volleyball title and its first at the Division I level. “We expected to be just like it was in the third game, scrambling like that at 28-26.
“Everyone has off days. I'm not sure what team I'm going to get until we get out here sometimes, and I think the other coaches might say that, too. But I think as a team have picked up our defense since the last time we saw them.”
The match was the third meeting between the teams this season, with the Trojans taking a nonleague match 3-1 on their home floor and the Miners sweeping the Trojans 2-0 en route to the Super 8 Tournament title.
“I think Oak Ridge came out really strong,” Miraldi said. “And with a young team, you're going to have mistakes in some crucial times that you wish you didn't.
“But I thought the girls did great tonight. I'm proud of them. All I can say is that we'll come back next week and keep going strong.”
Though the section streak might have ended, the Miners' season has not. Nevada Union will open play in the Northern California bracket of the CIF State Volleyball Championship Tournament on Tuesday. Rogers said he expects to be seeded sixth in the bracket, which would mean the Miners would be back on the road for the first round.
“I'm going to be looking for tire stores,” Rogers managed to joke in reference to the more than 800 miles the Miners traveled for the four section playoff games.
As section champion, Oak Ridge will open NorCal play on its home floor in El Dorado Hills.
Though the section championship streak was bound to end at some point, NU co-head coach Larry Peterson said he wasn't sure it couldn't have extended for several more years had the Miners played up to their potential in Thursday's final.
“It's unfortunate that we let this one get away,” he said. “With all the good young players we have, who knows? Maybe we could have put together 10 or 11.”
Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
