Three Mustangs make First-Team, four others receive year-end
awards
Dietrich Baumgartner inherited the leadership role for the Gilroy High boys volleyball team during the 2010-11 season.
Always letting his actions speak louder than words, Baumgartner anchored the Mustangs a Tri-County Athletic League championship – the program’s first.
Collecting a team-and-league high 424 kills, 157 digs and 36 blocks, the now-graduated Baumgartner, who is Azuza Pacific-bound, received the TCAL’s Most Valuable Player award. The outside hitter piled up 22 double-digit kill efforts, including a season-high 30 against Salinas in March.
Baumgartner also made the First-Team All-TCAL list as one of seven Mustangs to earn year-end honors.
As the team’s main facilitator at the net, setter Gavin Menges took his job seriously, and its because of his pin-point sets, players like Baumgartner, A.J. Been and Robby Filice – GHS’s heavy hitters in the middle – were able to post monster kill numbers.
Menges, another First-Team All-League recipient and the TCAL’s Setter of the Year, handed out 1,002 assists and was second on the team in digs and service aces with 172 and 53, respectively.
Middle blocker Filice emphatically punctuated his prep career with his best varsity campaign with a First-Team nod, finishing with a team-high 102 blocks and the third-most kills with 178.
The First-Team selections ware the second consecutive for Menges and Baumgartner.
A welcomed addition to the Mustangs this season, Been, who was named to the Second-Team, made the most of his lone year at the varsity level. Not only adding much-needed height up front, Been’s timely hitting led to 270 kills, second only to Baumgartner.
Gilroy’s dig leader, Connor Escobar (195 digs, 54 aces), and everywhere-man Johnny Lester (101 kills, 48 blocks, 24 service aces) snagged spots on the Honorable Mention list while Lucas Gravell was chosen for the Sportsmanship Award.
