Palao tallies 13 kills in GHS girls volleyball team’s three-game
sweep of Lady Acorns
MORGAN HILL – The Lady Mustang spikers have lived on the road this season while the Gilroy High gymnasium is being renovated – but Wednesday’s battle against neighboring rival Live Oak was their last away game.
Gilroy (2-3 in T-CAL) finished its extended road trip with an impressive three-game sweep over the Lady Acorns, 25-22, 26-24, 25-12. Live Oak did not take a game in the best-of-five rally format – but the Lady Mustangs were forced to work for every point.
“We weren’t quite intimidated. We wanted to go out and play our best and we did,” said senior hitter Yanina Gonzalez, who finished with a strong nine-kill performance. “We did (expect a five-game match) because Live Oak is such a tough team. We knew the challenge.”
Senior Lourella Palao led the Gilroy attack with a team-high 13 kills, while setters Katherine Hussey (16 assists) and Kassi Thomas (10 assists) got the ball in their big swingers’ hands. Junior Kendall Costa added four blocks for points and serve-specialist Raquel Lucente tallied two aces.
“This is a big hurdle, a really big hurdle,” said head coach Sam Navarez, whose squad defeated Live Oak for the first time in five seasons. “It shows when we’re up against a good team that we play well. Things are starting to come together at the right time.”
The Lady Mustangs finish the regular season with five straight home matches – starting with Oct. 22 against Salinas and then an Oct. 27 match-up against Hollister, both at 6:30 p.m. in the Gilroy High gym.
“It’s nice because we don’t have to travel any more,” Navarez said. “Our next five games are at home which is nice because we get to finish at home.”
The Gilroy spikers were flying all over the Live Oak hard court – digging out many blasts from the Lady Acorn attack and using their defense to keep the point alive in crucial situations.
“We practice defense. Defense is always first then offense,” Gonzalez said. “You try to find their weak spots and when you find one, you get it there.”
After two slim victories in the opening two games, Gilroy cemented the three-game sweep with a 13-point win. Behind the serve of Thomas, the Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in game-three. Live Oak went down fighting – but never came closer to seven points in the final game.
“I expected to win. I didn’t expect that game-three score,” Navarez said. “We kept the intensity up. Our team plays its best games against the best. They brought out the best in us. The next one is Hollister.”
Gilroy finished strong in the first two games – which both had back-and-forth action throughout. After Live Oak knotted the score at 19-19, the Lady Mustangs scored three straight to jump ahead – including a powerful cross court kill from Palao. Two long spikes from the Lady Acorns sealed the opening win for Gilroy.
In the second game, the two teams once again were in a tight battle that saw 12 tie scores before Gilroy pulled out the two-point victory. Tied at 24-24, Costa picked up a point on a block and Palao got game-point on a spike that just fell inside the line.
“If we have a solid defense, we can put the little pieces in for offense,” Navarez said.
