Buchanan tops Bullard in D-I volleyball semi

It was getting away, in the house where it’s difficult to get it back — at Buchanan High, the seven-time Central Section Division I volleyball champion in the past 12 years.

So Bullard coach Kieran Roblee, her team down 2-0 in sets and 16-9 in the third, called a timeout. And it was desperate.

“They were completely in their offensive system and we needed to keep them out of it,” she said.

It wouldn’t happen, as the top-seeded Bears, consistent with the night, balanced the finishing run by receiving kills from five players, including three from Sarah Horton, to win 25-18 for the semifinal three-set sweep over the No. 4 Knights.

Horton, Chloe Ferrari and Jessie Alcorn — the senior-driven frontline base in a 26-5 season — each delivered 12 kills, and Bridget Carlsen, yet another senior, set the table nicely with feeds as Buchanan defeated the unbeaten County/Metro Athletic champion for the third time.

Now for the most difficult hat trick of all — to beat Tri-River Athletic Conference rival Clovis West on Thursday in the D-I championship at 7 p.m. at Buchanan.

The Bears defeated the D-I defending champion 3-2 and 3-1 in the TRAC in the past five weeks.

Oddly, for all their competition in the past 30 years, this will be the first section title showdown in volleyball.

“We beat them twice and we’ll definitely do it again,” Horton said. “We’re confident but not too confident. We’ll prepare as much as possible because they’re a good team.”

How good might depend on the status of Lyndsie Petersen, the Golden Eagles’ 6-foot senior outside hitter, who only recently resumed playing because of a shoulder injury.

The Bee All-Star led in kills, digs and aces last year for a 28-6 Clovis West team that swept Liberty-Bakersfield for the school’s first section volleyball title.

“I’m not sure what impact she’ll have,” said coach Marian Battles, who has shaped Buchanan’s dynasty. “If she’s 100%, that will be a different-looking match. They are well coached, play great defense, have great pursuit and are getting better each time.”

Tuesday, Bullard (25-7) was getting better, following a 25-16 opening-set loss with a 16-12 second-set lead as college signees Mariah Riddlesprigger (Rice) and Azzari Badawi (Tulane) were pounding away up front off the sets of one of the section’s premier athletes, Pookie Gonzalez.

And, this time, it was Battles who called a timeout: “We’ve struggle a bit this year being able to stay in [the offensive flow] and not losing our focus.”

Ferrari then threw down kills from the left and middle, launching a 14-8 match-ending rally for a 26-24 win. And it was Ferrari’s kills from the middle and right that closed the set.

“Chloe had great attacks at real important times,” Battles said. “And when we came back in that second game, I was just thinking it was over. Even though Bullard doesn’t give up, our kids were going after it.”

The Knights’ Riddlesprigger — in tears seeing the curtains drawn following arguably the most accomplished four-year career in school history — applauded the Bears, then her own team.

“They brought it, and I give them props for that,” she said. “It’s upsetting it ended this way, but going to the semis for us was a great thing; it’s the next step.”

By Andy Boogaard / The Fresno Bee