Playing in its third consecutive road match, Gustine High volleyball fell to Denair High School in a four-set, 26-28, 6-25, 25-17 and 19-25 loss.
Gustine are now 3-9 overall and 1-3 in Southern League play. The Reds have now lost three straight matches against the Coyotes, dating back to September 2024.
While the sets may have indicated that Denair was in control for most of the match, Gustine applied pressure to the Coyotes’ offense and defense to keep themselves afloat.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the opening set as both teams scored and forced multiple errors as the score tied 22-22. Gustine, who hadn't led at this point, gained its first lead following an error committed by Denair. 23-22. The Reds later scored to extend their lead to two points and were in set-point.
This led Denair head coach Marie Stucker to call a timeout. The timeout proved to be well spent as the Coyotes scored to cut their deficit to one point, 24-23. Gustine head coach Solomona Laupua called a timeout afterwards to talk with his team.
Coming out of the timeout, Denair’s Piper Northcutt spiked the ball towards Gustine’s Maddison Romero, who forwarded the ball out of bounds for a Reds’ error to tie the set at 24-24.
Now entering extra set points, both Southern League opponents traded points back-and-forth as the set was tied at 26-26. Denair’s Arlene Gonzalez spiked the ball over the net towards Gustine territory to lead 27-26. Gonzalez once again came through for the Coyotes as she spiked the ball towards multiple Gustine players, who scrambled around the court to keep the ball in the air. However, a miscommunication from the players resulted in the ball hitting the floor for Denair to win the set, 28-26.
The Coyotes followed their opening period win with an early 11-3 lead in the second set. Despite Laupua offering encouraging words for the Reds’ players, the early deficit was not enough to overcome as Denair won the second set, 25-6.
After losing both sets, including one where it could have gone to either team, Gustine came into the third set with a sense of urgency. The Reds opened the period with an early 5-2 lead, which resulted in Denair calling a timeout. Despite the Coyotes’ timeout, Gustine carried the momentum from its hot start and won the set, 25-17, to avoid being swept.
Having lost the previous set and understanding how good the Reds have been throughout the match, Denair knew the importance of the fourth set.
The Coyotes opened with an 8-2 lead, resulting in Laupua calling a timeout. Following the Reds’ discussion, the team went on an 8-2 scoring run to trail 12-10. Stucker, looking to find a way for her offense to break through, decided to substitute Aailiyah Gonzalez and McKinley Brinkley in for the Coyotes.
That move led to six straight points for Denair, who led 18-10. Similar to the second set, Gustine couldn’t overcome a large deficit and lost the final period, 25-19.
Gustine will begin a three-game homestand, starting with Delhi High School on Monday at 6 p.m.
Navtej Hundal is freelance reporter in Stanislaus County
