Gilroy High girls volleyball team starts season with five-game
win over Monterey
nBy Marc David Sports Editor
Gilroy – It all came too easily too quickly for Gilroy’s girls’ volleyball team.
After a reality check Thursday, the Mustangs captured their season opener, 25-8, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12 over Monterey at Bob Hagen Gym.
“We need a little more focus,” Gilroy coach Sue Grogan said. “We tended to get lost in what we were doing.”
That wasn’t the case in the first game. The Mustangs came roaring out of the chute, getting seven straight service winners by Vanessa Wilkins and rolling to 9-1 lead. The Toreadors never got closer than seven in the first game.
It was a different story in the second game between two teams that were evenly matched. The teams were never separated by more than three points. The game ended with a Wilkins kill.
And then the wheels fell off the Mustang express. The communication and teamwork were missing in the third and fourth games as Monterey rallied behind the strong net play of Alissa Kenyon and setting of Marie Lee.
“We got a little nervous as they came back,” senior Kayla Meazell said. “We’re a young team still getting use to playing with each other. We were able to get things straightened out by the fifth game.”
The fifth game didn’t get off to a promising start as the Toreadors scored the first two points. And then, Gilroy briefly looked like the same team as it was the first game, forging a 10-5 lead. Just as quickly, Monterey tied the game at 10. But the Mustangs kept their composure and finished the match on Michelle Coffin’s kill.
“That’s a much improved Gilroy team from last year,” said Toreador coach David Swartz. “We came out a little scared and hesitant, but once we got going we were able to get them out of their system. We lost some guns from last year and we’re trying to figure who are guns are this year.”
With three girls sidelined for various reasons, Monterey had just eight players dressed. Kenyon had 10 kills, Lee had 28 assists and Melissa Badger had 15 digs to lead the Toreadors, who had won the last three meetings between the schools.
Grogan, meanwhile, rotated players constantly with Meazell and Caitlin Chisholm the only girls to be on the court throughout the match. Meazell had 20 kills, Chisholm had 11 kills, and Jennifer Smith and Brittany Balanessi combined for 30 assists.
“Monterey’s a tough team,” Grogan said. “They’ve got a good program down there.”
Grogan felt her team was able to blunt the Toreadors comeback when they speeded up play.
“I told them to play fast and furious because we’ve been practicing that way,” Grogan said. “During practice we play at a quick tempo so when they’re on the court they don’t worry about what to do. I want them to think ahead rather than get caught from behind.”
The Mustangs nearly got caught from behind Thursday before regaining their focus and passing the Toreadors at the end.
Gilroy’s junior varsity team got off to a strong start defeating Monterey 25-17, 25-22.
