Volleyball: Amador outlasts De La Salle

Amador Valley defeats De La Salle in five sets 24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12.

Records: Amador Valley 24-3 (11-1 EBAL), De La Salle 25-8 (8-4 EBAL)

The Star:  Dan Cleland had 44 assists and six blocks and was a force at the net.

The Turning Point: After De La Salle came back to tie the fifth set at 12-12, Amador Valley coach Aaron Harper called a timeout, after which the Dons came out and won the next three points, clinching the victory.

The Quote: "It worked out, we got lucky. That's all you can say, we got lucky," Harper's response to the results of his the final timeout he called in the fifth set.

Who's Next? The Dons host Granada Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Bottom Line: Amador Valley is still No. 2 in the East Bay Athletic League boys' volleyball standings behind Foothill, who the Dons will host Thursday in a match which  could decide the league title.

—————————————————————

With the match tied at 12 in the fifth game, Amador Valley High boys volleyball coach Aaron Harper called a timeout to get his team ready for the stretch run.

It sparked the Dons' to sprint to the finish, as they won the next three points to wrap up a nail biting victory of De La Salle High in five ganmes 24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12.

"It worked out, we got lucky. That's all you can say, we got lucky," Harper said of his decision to call time after the Spartans (25-8, 8-4 EBAL) tied the final set.

Dan Cleland had  44 assists and six blocks. He combined to be one of Amador Valley's biggest forces at the net and placed the ball in the right spots for his teammates in an up-and-down match.

"I was a little bit inconsistent at times, but when the passing was there I was able to get some points," said Cleland. "It was probably my best blocking game. I don't know if I was jumping high, but I was just feeling it today."

The Dons (11-1 EBAL) had control of the first game early, up 14-9 until the Spartans charged back to tie it at 15. The teams tied once more at 24 before De La Salle took control and won the final two points of the game.

After they lost the first game, the Dons trailed early in the second, but charged back to take an 8-7 lead before going on a 10-3 run to put the game out of reach.

Amador Valley seemed in command of the third set, up 17-9, but the Spartans closed it to a one-point game at 23-22. De La Salle's Ryan Evans seemed to have tied the game at 23, but the referee ruled that his hand made contact with the net and awarded the point to the Dons.

Needing to win the fourth game to extend the game to a tiebreaker, De La Salle went on a 7-1 run to open up a 15-9 lead. Amador Valley brought the gap back to just a single point three times late in the set, but never tied or led as the Spartans pulled away for the two-point win.

"Any match against a top team in the EBAL is going to be a tough battle ... It's not a whole lot of difference in a match that close," Harper said. "Our guys showed up to play."

John Buchenauer led the Dons with 17 kills and had four blocks, while Connor Farrell wasn't far behind with 12 kills and one block. Mark Cleland had eight kills and one block, Jack Reedy had a pair of aces to go along with his seven kills and four blocks, and Brandon Barkdull notched the same number of kills, six, as he had blocks.

The Dons host Granada Tuesday at 6 p.m.