Twelve Bridges volleyball wins first playoff match in program history

The Twelve Bridges High School boys volleyball team made school history May 2 by beating El Dorado 3-1 for the first playoff victory in program history in the school's first postseason appearance. The Raging Rhinos earned the sixth seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs after an impressive 20-3 regular season that included a Pioneer Valley League championship. Twelve Bridges hosted the No. 11 Cougars and won the first two sets 25-19, 25-18. Set three began with a 9-2 run by El Dorado and while the Rhinos mounted a comeback, the Cougars prevailed to force a fourth set, Twelve Bridges coach Morghan Pomeroy brought her team together during a timeout in set four and motivated her team to get the job done. "I told them during the timeout that it's going to come down to hard work, and who wants it more. I told them to leave their heart on this court and show who has the most grit," Pomeroy said. "We have trained grit from day one and I knew that they could pull it out." The Rhinos ended the set on a 10-2 run to put the nail in the coffin of a 25-19 victory to win the match. The killing blow was delivered by senior Whit Kruse, who is primarily a defensive player but had a team-high 10 kills. Kruse said there was no tweak in the game plan that saw him providing more offense than normal; it was just the flow of the match that brought the ball his way more often. "I did my best and did everything I could to do my job today and that worked out very well for the team," Kruse said. Kruse added the secret to the team's success this season has been the cohesiveness, noting the team plays for their teammates more than they play for themselves. "This is a really good group and this is a really good squad. We're all pretty lucky to have such a good group of guys," Kruse said. "We do team bonding dinners and a lot of fun stuff together. I love this group." Pomeroy echoed Kruse's statement, saying, "The biggest thing is us staying together as a unit and not turning into individuals while we play. We are one body. We have to come together as one. We cannot play as individuals and we have to stay a cohesive team." The Rhinos were also elevated by the duo of Lincoln Evans and Wyatt Flannery, who each picked up nine kills. Carlos Lopez-Santiago had 14 digs while JP Racela and Flannery each added 13. Racela had 23 assists. The Rhinos' season came to an end Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss at No. 3 Lathrop in the quarterfinals.