Gilroy
– There’s nothing like a close encounter in the opening contest
to get the competitive juices flowing.
Gilroy – There’s nothing like a close encounter in the opening contest to get the competitive juices flowing.
And they were flowing on both sides Tuesday night at Bob Hagen Memorial Gym where Sobrato edged Gilroy 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13 in a back yard boys volleyball encounter.
For the Bulldogs, it was an opening step in a process that co-coaches Kevin and Rosemary Miller anticipate will be a huge step forward from last year’s team that won only twice. Sobrato moves from the Tri-County Athletic League to the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
“We’re so grateful Gilroy scheduled us because it gives us a measuring stick for how much we progressed,” Kevin Miller said. “We were dying to be able to play TCAL teams to see how much better we are and how far we have to go.”
With Alisal and Palma upcoming in the next week, the Millers will find out about their team in a hurry. And then it’s off to the Blossom Valley Athletic League where the competition is not quite so keen, according to the Millers.
What Gilroy discovered in its opener was that Sobrato is athletic and has a standout hitter in Jared Mammen, who had 22 kills. The Mustangs also discovered something about themselves — that they won’t quit even when they fall two games down.
“You can’t cut it any closer than that,” GHS coach Sue Grogan said of the final result. “By the time we finished the second game, I wanted to see if they (the Mustangs) would put their tails between their legs and give up, or they would come out and play. I liked the energy they put forth in the third and fourth games.”
In the fifth game, Gilroy raced out to a 5-0 lead. The Mustangs maintained the lead until an Adam Morales block broke a 10-all tie. The Bulldogs closed out the match with Mammen’s 22nd kill. Shawn Tharayil had 29 assists and Bhupinder Ishpuniani had seven digs.
“It was a typical opening game,” Kevin Miller said. “We just got our basketball and soccer players and had just one full practice together. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Ditto that for Gilroy, which was hurt by service errors. Junior Kevin Bruce directed the Mustangs attack on the floor and had 16 kills and three aces. Greg Calimpong had 28 assists. Alfred Medenceles had 15 service points.
“(Bruce) was helping the other players,” Grogan said. “He’s played club volleyball so he knows things like angles and where balls go to. He helped (his teammates) with different strategies.”
It wasn’t quite enough. And yet Grogan was happy to get a close match right away to see how her relatively inexperienced team would react.
“It was a good opportunity to see what they could do,” Grogan said. “It’s better than starting with an easy team or an easy win. I’ve never been one to look for it.”
