Prep Volleyball: Live Oak rally falls short in pink match

Live Oak dropped its fifth straight match Saturday, losing 3-1 to Monte Vista Christian in the annual breast cancer awareness contest.
The Acorns (6-8, 0-4) came close to forcing a game five that could have snapped the losing streak, but a late rally came up short, to ultimately lose 19-25, 25-19, 15-25, 23-25.
“You got to give it to Monte Vista, man, they played tough. They didn’t let anything drop,” said assistant coach Peter Borja. “I don’t know what happened in Game 4. We had them.”
The match was a fundraiser for breast cancer research, with funds from sales of souvenirs and food all being donated. It was formally Dig Pink, but Live Oak changed its affiliation this year.
Both sides did their warm ups in pink shirts and most of the fans were adorned in pink. The gym was decorated with ribbons and balloons and had signs across the room with slogans of support for breast cancer awareness.
Some girls even wore tutus while watching the junior varsity play its match.
In the fourth set, Live Oak overcame a five-point deficit to come within two of forcing a fifth set.
The Acorns hung around early in the set, fighting to keep it a one-point game until MVC put together a pair of scoring runs to go up 14-9.
But thanks to errors from the Mustangs and a pair of aces from Renee Rhoads, the Acorns pulled even at 14 all.
From there, both sides went back and forth, with each side taking a one-point lead only to give it up until Live Oak finally took a 21-19 lead late in the set.
A serving error made it 21-20, but the Acorns pulled together two straight points, including a block from Rhoads that put Live Oak within two of forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
That’s when the Mustangs rallied to put the game away.
Two kills, a block and an ace contributed to five-straight MVC points killing the Acorns’ chances.
Live Oak battled in all four sets, but twice fell victim extended Monte Vista runs.
In the first set, Live Oak rallied from being down three, getting points from Rhoads, Courtney Borja, Alexis Budde, Julie Blotz and Madison Hartman.
“It was a tough match, but we should have had them,” Peter Borja said. “But Monte Vista is good, they played today.”
Rhoads had a kill to tie the game at 11 all, followed by an ace from Blotz that gave the Acorns the lead.
Live Oak went up by four thanks to kills from Borja and Hartman.
However, after leading 16-12, MVC went on an eight-point run that put the game out of reach.
Live Oak responded in the second by leading nearly the entire way. The only times the Acorns didn’t lead was when MVC scored the opening point and later tied the game 2-2.
From there, the Acorns had strong serving from Borja and Blotz that opened a 15-9 lead.
MVC did make one late run, pulling the set to as close as three, thanks to an ace to put the game at 21-18.
But a kill from Budde and an ace from Kate Guzman, the threat was brushed aside and the Acorns won by six.
The momentum didn’t stick with the Acorns in the third.
Live Oak capitalized on a trio of errors from MVC early to take a 3-2 lead, but never returned to the positive side of the ledger.
The Acorns put together scoring runs of two or more just three times leading to a 10-point loss.
Hartman did have a pair of kills in the set, including one that pulled Live Oak within one at 12-11.
Hartman led the team with nine kills, followed by Borja with six and Rhoads with four.
“I think our defense kept us in the game,” Peter Borja said. “We had a lot of mis-hits on our kills. And Monte Vista (was) just digging our ball.”
Roads also have four aces.
Live Oak will try to get back its winning ways on Tuesday, taking on Branham, who is also trying to right the ship following a trio of losses heading into Saturday’s contest against Christopher.
The Acorns will play one more match without a head coach, as Laura Coleman is slated to take over for James Uthes on Wednesday.
Uthes was let go following a Sept. 27 arrest on a traffic warrant, according to Morgan Hill police. The warrant was related to a driving on a suspended license charge from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, according to police.
The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Live Oak gym.