Mustangs open season tonight against Monterey
By Marc David Sports Editor
Gilroy – If there is one certainty for this year’s Gilroy girls’ volleyball team it is that youth will be served.
After all, 11 of the 13 Mustangs are underclassmen. It’s still a work in progress for second-year head coach Sue Grogan, who is stressing fundamentals. Because the middle school program is relatively new, Grogan is being careful not to force-feed her players with too much information too quickly.
Girls volleyball is the first of the fall sports to get answers to the 2006 season when the Mustangs open at 6:30pm today against Monterey at Bob Hagen Gym. There will be a junior varsity game but no freshman action.
“There’s still not a lot of middle school playing time,” Grogan said. “Only recently have some of the girls started playing club volleyball. You can now see evidence of some of the younger girls coming in more prepared because of the middle school programs.”
With that in mind, Grogan is running the varsity program different than the freshman team. The freshmen will run a “very basic offense and defense.”
This doesn’t mean that Grogan is pessimistic about the upcoming season. Kayla Meazell is an excellent starting point for the Mustangs. The senior outside hitter played club volleyball in the offseason and “has improved dramatically from last season even though she was very good last year,” Grogan says.
Senior setter Jennifer Smith is another stabilizing force and has improved through her work with assistant/setting coach Melissa Noto, a GHS graduate. Junior middle blockers Caitlin Chisholm and Vanessa Wilkins add versatility and are good diggers. Junior Sara Hugo is a solid defensive specialist.
Those are the five girls with the most varsity experience. But Grogan will also be looking for contributions from a number of juniors who played together on the junior varsity team last year as well as youngsters like sophomore Jasmine Perez and freshman Lindsey Foster.
“I never had a freshman before play varsity,” Grogan says. “She has showed so much potential, is so coachable and has a great attitude for the game.”
And that is what Grogan would like from all her players.
2006 GHS Girls Varsity Volleyball Roster
Seniors, Kayla Meazell, Jennifer Smith; Juniors, Caitlin Chisholm, Vanessa Wilkins, Sara Hugo, Brittany Balanesi, Michelle Coffin, Rebecca Costenza, Katelin Faria, Megan Leach, Mekala Sheedy; Sophomore, Jasmine Perez; Freshman, Lindsey Foster.
Schedule
August
24, Monterey
29, North Monterey County
September
6, at Presentation
9, at St. Ignatius Tournament, 8am.
12, Watsonville
19, at Hollister-San Benito
21, Everett Alvarez
23, at Harbor Tournament, 8am
27, at Notre Dame
October
3, North Salinas
5, Salinas
7, Mustang Classic, 8am.
10, at Alisal
12, Hollister-San Benito
17, at Everett Alvarez
24, Notre Dame
26, at North Salinas
30, at Salinas
November
2, Alisal
All varsity games 6:30 p.m.
unless noted
