Dramatic finish leads Live Oak volleyball in 3-1 win over Milpitas

Live Oak’s volleyball coach James Uthes never lost confidence in his players, even when facing game point that could have sent the match into a deciding game five against Milpitas.
Uthes said he knew his girls would win game 5, but it didn’t get that far.
The Acorns (1-0) scored four of the last five points in the fourth game to capture the match 25-14, 25-11, 24-26, 28-26.
“It was crazy. The last two points, I was just freaking out,” said junior setter Alexis Budde.
The Acorns survived two game points that would have sent the match into a deciding fifth game thanks to a 4-1 scoring run.
Live Oak had a little luck to thank for the victory.
Milpitas’ Alyssa Alomogela had just served the second of consecutive aces to pull within one point of a win. But after a short volley between the two schools, Milpitas (0-1) was called for running into the net.
The Trojans got one more crack at stealing game 4 when Brianna Gay stuffed a shot at the net.
Led by the hitting of Renee Rhoads, Live Oak scored the final three points to clinch the win.
“I had confidence in my girls,” Uthes said. “If we didn’t get them in game 4, I knew we would get them in game 5. I wasn’t worried one bit at all.”
After Live Oak cruised through the first two games, Uthes subbed out his starting rotation for game 3 which proved to be a spark for Milpitas to attempt a comeback.
The Trojans jumped out to an 11-3 lead before Uthes called time-out and challenged his girls to get their heads in the game.
Live Oak responded by outscoring Milpitas 20-8 and was serving match point after Budde slammed home a kill.
But the Trojans staged a comeback of their own, scoring seven of the next eight points to prevent the sweep.
Shayla Tomasello led the comeback effort, scoring a go-ahead ace and recorded a late-game kill to put Live Oak up 21-18.
With the starters back into the contest for game 4, Live Oak appeared to have the match in hand, pulling out to a quick 8-3 lead before the final frame turned into a dog fight.
Live Oak traded points with Milpitas to take an 11-6 lead when the Trojans went on a 9-3 scoring run.
As the gym roared with fans on both sides celebrated each point, the match traded momentum the entire way until Live Oak went on a 5-0 scoring run to pull to within one point of ending the match.
That’s when Milpitas went on a 5-1 run, twice serving game point. It narrowly missed out thanks to a running-into-the-net call that allowed Live Oak to tie the game at 25 all.
With Milpitas serving game point at 26-25, Rhoads slammed down a kill to tie the game. Then two straight Milpitas errors handed Live Oak the win.
She had five kills and three aces
In game 1, Morgan Victor led the way with three kills and an ace. In game 2 she had two aces and a game-clinching kill.
“It is always good to start the first game off with a win,” Rhoads said. She added that getting some momentum going in the non-league season will bode well when BVAL play starts.
Uthes did see some good performances from some key players, but was slow to single out any one girl in particular.
“I don’t think anyone stood out. It was a team effort. They played great as a team,” Uthes said.
Julie Blotz led Acorn hitters with seven kills. Budde added three of her own, along with three aces and a block. Courtney Borja also contributed four kills, with a block and an ace.
Rounding out the day was Maddy Hartman with three kills and two blocks.
The Acorns hit the road on Tuesday to face Fremont-Sunnyvale. It returns home Sept. 12 to take on Willow Glen.