Mustangs fall to Mt. Madonna after beating Hawks earlier
Gilroy – It was hard to tell Saturday whether the Gilroy girls’ volleyball players were more upset that they lost to a team they had already beaten, or if several had to work the Silver Division finals that featured another Mustangs’ victim.
GHS won its bracket in the seventh annual Mustang Classic at Bob Hagen Gymnasium, but was knocked out in the first round of the Gold Division by Mt. Madonna.
It was a hard defeat to swallow since GHS had knocked off the Hawks one match earlier to emerge from its bracket as the only unbeaten.
“It was tough having to face them right away again,” junior Caitlin Chisolm said. “I thought we played pretty well in the tournament.”
One consolation was that senior setter Jennifer Smith was the Mustangs’ representative on the all-tournament team.
Gilroy struggled early in its opener against Independence before Kayla Meazell (nine kills) heated up at the front to help GHS dominate at the net. The Mustangs defeated the Sixers 26-24, 25-16 as Jennifer Smith and Brittany Balanesi combined for 17 assists, and Sara Hugo had 10 digs and three aces.
Gilroy almost let a big lead slip away in the first game of the second match with Half Moon Bay before a Chisolm kill ended it, 25-23. The Mustangs had used a nine-point run behind Hugo’s serving and Vanessa Wilkins’ stellar play at the net for a 22-13 lead.
The second game was closer with neither team leading by more than four and the Mustangs pulling it out 26-24 on a Rebecca Costanza kill.
Meazell had seven kills and nine digs to lead the way. Smith had 14 assists, Wilkins and five kills and six digs, and Hugo had three aces among her 10 service points.
Gilroy drew first blood against Mt. Madonna, slipping past the Hawks 25-22, 16-25, 15-13 as Chisolm had four kills and eight digs, Wilkins had five kills, and Smith and Balanesi combined for 15 assists.
But Mt. Madonna proved that turnabout is fair play in the next match. In the opening round of the Gold Division, the Hawks beat the Mustangs 25-22, 16-25, 15-13.
It was the fourth straight match Mt. Madonna had gone three games in the best-of-three format.
Meazell had eight kills and 14 digs, Jasmine Perez had 11 digs, Smith had nine assists and seven digs, Balanesi had 12 assists, and Wilkins had five kills, three blocks and two aces for GHS.
That made the Mustangs’ players spectators and volunteers for the remainder of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Mt. Madonna was knocked out in the next round and St. Ignatius wound up winning all five of its matches and the Gold Division by whipping Mt. Pleasant 25-15, 25-18 in the final.
Scotts Valley outlasted Half Moon Bay 21-25, 25-18, 15-13 to win the Silver Division.
“I thought we did well,” GHS coach Sue Grogan said. “We got a chance to play against teams we hadn’t played before, teams with different approaches all over the board. The first half of the games were learning which team could do what.”
Grogan was unsure of what to expect from her team after a “flat practice” Friday. But the Mustangs showed a certain resiliency and ability to win close games during the tournament.
“It’s a completely different team from last year,” Grogan said. “Even when we get down, they still seem to be able to come back and win games. This group of girls is very adaptable. I can switch them around (to different positions) and they still seem to rise to the occasion.”
