SAN JOSE – Plagued all night by unforced errors, the Gilroy High
boys volleyball team saw its season come to an abrupt halt in the
opening round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs,
losing in four sets (14-25, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25) to Lynbrook High
School in San Jose on Tuesday night.
SAN JOSE – Plagued all night by unforced errors, the Gilroy High boys volleyball team saw its season come to an abrupt halt in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, losing in four sets (14-25, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25) to Lynbrook High School in San Jose on Tuesday night.
“I’m shocked and stunned,” said junior Dietrich Baumgartner, who was short on words after the team’s early exit. “We didn’t come to play the way we needed to.”
Momentum is key and rhythm is crucial in volleyball, but on Tuesday night, the Mustangs couldn’t corral either. Unable to establish any type of consistent flow, Gilroy soon found themselves buried in a 2-0 hole.
“Right off the bat we were down and we were just not playing like we are used to,” GHS coach Josh Corioso said. “We were trying to be too precise, which resulted in a lot of errors.”
After falling behind two-sets-to none, the No. 7-seeded Mustangs were able to stave off a pesky No. 10 Vikings bunch in Game 3 to avoid a three-game sweep, but couldn’t turn the corner in Game 4.
The first two sets saw a frustrated Mustangs crew struggling to find the court for points, whether it was the Vikings getting hands in the way or just miss-plays leading to kill attempts sailing long or into the net.
“A lot of the matches we played during league we came out and smashed people,” Corioso said. “It’s hard to come back from doing that all season then losing the first two sets and try to battle back.”
Fourteen errors in the first set crippled the Mustangs out of the gate as unfamiliarity with their opponent seemed to confuse their efforts.
“I didn’t know that they were going to have a bunch of scrappy people,” Corioso said. “I knew they would get their kills and they definitely showed that. They are quick. They were up in our face and our passing wasn’t all there.”
The Vikings’ front line of Dustin Yu, Evan Wang and Tony Ho, gave the Mustangs fits throughout the match, combining for 45 of the team’s 59 kills.
However, the Mustangs clawed their way through a fierce third set, able to eke out the 25-23 set win to stay alive.
“That third set is who we really are,” Corioso said “We saw flashes of it, but we could never string it together.”
The Mustangs trailed for a majority of the third, overcoming a 13-4 deficit to eventually tie things at 22-22 before securing the set.
“I thought we (had the momentum),” Baumgartner said. “After they scored the first couple points everyone just kind of slowed down.”
The Vikings jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the fourth and didn’t allow the Mustangs to get any closer than 9-8, finishing the set and match on a 9-3 run.
“I told the kids they did a great job and had a great season despite what happened here,” Corioso said. “They definitely played their hearts out this season. They are a great group of kids and I’m going to miss them.”
Though limited in production senior Albert Chavez still managed a team-high 18 kills, while fellow senior Nico Sandoval contributed 13 kills. JJ Lam led the way with 15 digs, Baumgartner had eight kills to go along with three blocks and Gavin Menges had 38 assists.
Lynbrook advances to the quarterfinals where it will face No. 2-seed Mountain View.
