Live Oak had to be a little scrappy against Overfelt but in the end found a way to keep the Royals at bay in a three-set sweep.
The Acorns improved to 1-2 in West Valley Division play thanks to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-17 victory.
Live Oak advanced thanks in large part to keeping pressure on Overfelt through the entire match, squelching the Royals’ runs.
“It was good serving, got everyone in, kept the ball on our side and it was a good night,” said coach Pete Borja.
Josilyn Layton had 12 kills and 10 aces to lead the Acorns to a win.
Overfelt kept things close in all three sets, especially in the first where Live Oak needed a run of 10-straight service points to help pull ahead 25-20.
In the second set, Live Oak jumped out to a 9-5 lead when Overfelt pulled to within one at 13-12.
But a quick 4-0 run put Live Oak back up by four. Eventually the Acorns turned that into a 10-4 scoring run that put the contest away.
“We’re just trying to limit the unforced errors and get the ball back over the net and let them make mistakes,” Borja said. “When we have a kill we can put it away. When we’re out of system, we can keep the ball up and not make a mistake on out part.”
Overfelt had a glimmer of hope with a 4-1 scoring run to pull within 24-20, but a serve into the net gave Live Oak the five-point victory.
Set three didn’t start well for Live Oak as a pair of errors and a lift call put the Acorns in a quick 4-2 hole against Overfelt.
The Royals looked sharp in the beginning, keeping Live Oak on its heels and maintaining its lead.
However, Live Oak quickly found its footing again.
After going down 7-6, the Acorns went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-7 lead and managed to hang on.
Borja said even when Live Oak got behind, he just tried to keep things simple with the girls and had them focused on one thing at a time.
“We told them to keep the unforced errors down and if we keep our serve, we’ll win this game,” Borja said. “They didn’t pass very well on their side, so if we keep the ball on our side and serve well, we’d win.”
Overfelt capitalized on some strong attacking and serving to knot the set at 10, but Live Oak went on a 12-1 scoring run and didn’t look back.
Even though Overfelt closed out the contest on a 5-3 run, Live Oak still maintained its healthy lead and eventually pulled out the W with a serve into the net.
Live Oak will next host Yerba Buena 6 p.m. Thursday. The Acorns will then travel to San Jose on Sept. 26 for a 6 p.m. game.
