GILROY – The Mustangs (20-10, 14-2 TCAL) secured the seventh
seed in the 2010 Central Coast Section Division I playoffs and will
travel to take on No. 10 Lynbrook High School in the first round
Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in San Jose.
GILROY – Though last Thursday night’s winner-take-all showdown for the Tri-County Athletic League crown between the Gilroy High and Monterey High boys volleyball teams didn’t go the way of the Mustangs, a clean slate has been granted to the boys in blue.
The Mustangs (20-10, 14-2 TCAL) secured the seventh seed in the 2010 Central Coast Section Division I playoffs and will travel to take on No. 10 Lynbrook High School in the first round Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in San Jose.
The Vikings (17-10) garnered the top spot in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic league therefore earning the home-court match over the higher-seeded Mustangs.
“The postseason is a brand new season,” GHS coach Scott Martin said. “It’s a chance for us to let go of everything that happened during the season – the snafus at the tournaments, the tough loss to Palma, the tough loss to Monterey. It’s a chance for all of that to go out the window.”
Last season, the Mustangs grabbed the No. 6-seed, but after a first-round bye, drew eventual champ Bellarmine in the quarterfinals and fell victim to a three-game sweep.
“We went up there and competed and got some guys CCS experience,” Martin said of last season’s playoff appearance.
“This year we have Lynbrook. We don’t know too much about them,” Martin said. “They won their league so obviously they are going to be pretty solid. We need to come out and play. We can’t come out and lay an egg an expect to win.”
Seniors Nico Sandoval and Gavin Menges, along with junior Dietrich Baumgartner, provide the Mustangs with a solid core of players with playoff experience under their belts. Add in the emergence of senior Albert Chavez, who led the league in kills with a staggering 400, and the consistent play JJ Lam at Libero and Robby Filice, gives the Mustangs a recipe for success.
“There is a relationship there,” Martin said. “They trust Josh (Corioso) and I as far as being their coaches. “As a team we are probably stronger as a set of six players on the court at one time. You have the guys that are the standout players and you have the guys that are the role players. They understand the ways they can contribute to this team. I am looking for us to have a good match and hopefully pick up a win.”
Tuesday’s winner get No. 2-seeded Mountain View High School (23-5) in the quarterfinals Thursday night in Mountain View. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The semifinals and finals will be played at Independence High School in San Jose May 15 and may 18, respectively.
Monterey 3, GHS 2,
In a clash of the two best teams in the TCAL, it was Monterey squeaking out a 3-2 victory (17-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 11-15) over Gilroy to claim the league championship Thursday night in Monterey.
Both teams came into the contest at 14-1 in league. Gilroy handed the Toreadors their lone league loss March 30 in another five-set heart-stopper.
Chavez and Toreadors’ heavy-hitter, Ty Dudley-Mann, each ripped 25 kills in the back-and-forth contest.
The Mustangs managed to fight back from one-set down on two occasions before succumbing to the Toreadors in the final set.
Sandoval finished with 13 kills, Menges set the table with 41 assists and Lam hunkered down on the back line to nab 25 digs.
The Toreadors have won five of the last six TCAL championships.
