The Pioneer High School boys varsity volleyball team crossed town this week to play rivals Woodland High School in both team’s respective season finales.
Before departing the Golden Empire League later this year for the Monticello Empire League, the Patriots (8-9, 5-9 GEL) swept the Wolves (0-14) in the last league matchup between the crosstown foes, at least for a while.
“At first it was a little inconsistent. We had some communication errors out there. I think it had to do with the emotion of seven seniors and it being their last volleyball game for some of them, ever. Then in that last set, they got it together and played well. They are a really talented group of athletes, they’re a special group of boys and I’m really sad to see them go,” explained Pioneer coach Annie Carter. “I’m really excited about the new league. We’ll still play Woodland in the preseason for both girls and boys.”
The Patriots won the first set 25-13 and the final two 25-15, respectively.
“The first two sets we did pretty well. The last set, we weren’t concentrating as much. Compared to the beginning of the season, I’m really proud of my players, they’ve definitely improved and they gave their heart out there, which is what we wanted,” recalled Woodland coach Admin Araiza. “I told my players, ‘This is the last time for you guys to play against Pioneer because they’re out of our league after this season, so keep that in mind.’
“I told the players that are coming back, ‘We can probably play against them in a friendly, but it doesn’t have the same meaning as a league rival.’ We’ll still try to get a friendly in there throughout the season.”
Wolves statistics were unavailable as of press time. Senior middle blocker Caden Wirth led the way for Pioneer with a game-high 14 kills, followed by senior outside hitter Adrian Romero with 7.
“I had a lot of fun today because I knew it was going to be my last game, so I was just trying to take it all in with my other seniors,” Romero said. “It was a little sad also since it’s the last (GEL) game for a while.
“Everybody contributed in their own way. Even if it wasn’t perfect, we all had fun.”
Senior OH Jonah Juarez tallied a game-high 4 serving aces. Romero and senior libero Zachary Estantino had 2 each.
“It was really important because a lot of us had never played this sport before. We’re all learning at the same time. We all really enjoyed it and had a lot of pride in the game of volleyball,” Romero explained. “This was my third year playing. I picked it up pretty fast and that’s mostly because it was really fun for me. I like to hustle, dive and get on the floor. I don’t care if I get hurt or not! As long as I contributed to my team.”
Wirth led the way in blocks as well with 2 and senior MH Erik Hoyt added 1. Three Patriots racked up double-digit digs. Juarez had a game-high with 21 digs, Estantino contributed 19 and Romero recorded 10. Freshman setter Mark Estantino was tossing dimes, per usual, with a game-high 21 assists.
“Adrian had a phenomenal game at the service line. He took some really big swings in crucial moments. In the third set we really picked it up and that started with Adrian, Zach and Jonah’s leadership,” Carter recalled. “Zach always plays amazing in the back row. Jonah, as always, is an amazing passer. That part of the game is his strength so he really helps keep the ball off the floor. Caden always finishes at the end, he’s got a great swing.”
With half of the team comprised of soccer players, and Araiza also being the Woodland varsity soccer head coach, the Wolves racked up countless digs Wednesday with their feet.
“It’s all about moving and a lot of them were static and would just stay in one place. We’re trying to develop their footwork and agility, we implemented that in practice,” Araiza explained. “For the players that played soccer, I told them, ‘It’s OK to kick the ball.’ If it’s your last resource to get the ball up, I’m OK with that. Last game against Mesa Verde, Edgar did that a lot of the time, which helped us win one set and was pretty cool.”
Four Woodland seniors are departing for graduation: Luis Bucio, Matthew Cassevah, Jaiden Lindsay and Edgar Rodriguez.
“Our setter Matthew was doing really well. Damian (Renteria) was hitting really well, as well. Those are two players that stood out,” Araiza recalled. “It’s hard to get players, especially because a lot of them don’t know that volleyball is a boys sport too. Trying to recruit and get players out here is difficult and has been for the last three years. There’s a lot of players that show interest, however, they play other sports because that’s something they’ve been doing for a while.”
Pioneer has 70% of its original roster graduating in the Class of 2024. The seven seniors are: Hoyt, Juarez, Romero, Wirth, Zach Estantino, Maury Orozco and Tlaloc Villagrana.
“This year has been really fun. We had a lot of returners, which coming in last year, I really didn’t know who had played and there were only three of them. Being a relatively new team, I feel like they picked up the game so fast and you would not know that some of them have only been playing for two years,” Carter explained. “I know they’ve fallen in love with the game of volleyball, which is my No. 1 goal. Some of them are going to continue to play and try out for clubs.
“I feel like we have a really good, close relationship with this group of kids. Even though they are graduating and moving on, I don’t think that our relationship is done.”
Luckily for Carter, the Patriots had an inaugural junior varsity boys volleyball team this year, coached by Marisa Finlayson. Therefore, Pioneer plans to reload alongside its three remaining varsity players: Mark Estantino and sophomores, Justin Duncan and Angel Romero. Carter also called up some JV prospects for the final few games: sophomores, Ed Arreola and Octavio Bechtel, and freshman Rolando Espinoza.
“I’m really excited because we have our JV team for the first time this year so we’re going to have more game experience coming onto the varsity court,” Carter foreshadowed. “I’m really glad that the underclassmen got a chance to play because last year they didn’t get the touches on the ball or game experience. There are some kids coming up that you’re going to want to watch. They were on our bench today.
“Mark Estantino is an amazing setter and only a freshman. Duncan is huge on the right side. Angel Romero will be coming back as well. It’ll be really fun to see how they excel and they’ll get more than two years.”
