Rams' season ends in quarterfinals of Division III playoffs
May 09, 2022 12:00AM ● By By Shaun Holkko, sports editor
Dixon senior opposite/outside/middle hitter Kyan Fries prepares to spike the ball during a sweep of Pioneer on Wednesday, April 27 at Senior Night in Dixon. Photo by Nicolas Brown
MANTECA, CA (MPG) – A magical season came to an end Thursday in Manteca for the Dixon High School boy’s varsity volleyball team following a loss to East Union in the quarterfinals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys volleyball playoffs.
The No. 5 seed Rams (16-2, 10-0 Golden Empire League) lost to the No. 13 Lancers (12-9, 5-5 Valley Oak) in four sets, 3-1. The loss not only ended Dixon’s season, but also snapped the team’s impressive 15-match winning streak.
East Union needed extra time to win the first set, as the Lancers narrowly prevailed 27-25. The Rams responded well in the second set, winning 25-20 to even the score at one. East Union won the match with two more narrow victories in the third and fourth sets, conquering Dixon 25-23 in each, respectively. The Lancers will play next in the semifinals on Tuesday night at No. 1 seed Lathrop.
RELATED: Dixon sweeps Pioneer on Senior Night for 14th straight victory
Nine out of 14 Rams are seniors and will not be on next year’s team. The following students are in the Class of 2022: Defensive specialist (DS) Diego Palomino, co-captain and libero Demetrio Acosta, middle hitter (MH) Shanay Nair, DS Ethan Reed, setter (S) Jonathan Covello, co-captain and MH/S Ernesto Arias, opposite hitter (OPP)/outside hitter (OH)/MH Kyan Fries, OH Dylan Diaz and OH/MH Josef Iten.
The 2022 season will be remembered for multiple reasons. First, the 15-match winning streak. Dixon lost its second game of the season and then didn’t lose again until the second round of the playoffs. However, the Rams did not merely survive each match during the streak, they dominated most. After its first two wins of the streak, Dixon won nine consecutive matches without losing a single set.
The Rams battled to five sets against the Casa Roble Rams on April 25, then swept their next three matches before losing to the Lancers on Thursday night. The 2022 season will also be remembered for an undefeated record in Golden Empire play, en route to a league championship. Nine out of 10 of the league wins were sweeps.
RELATED: Rams advances in playoffs with 15th straight win
Kudos to head coach Jessica Biesanz, assistant coach Nikki Garcia and the entire Dixon team on a spectacular season.
