Puneet Pataria put an end to any hopes Gilroy’s girls varsity
volleyball team had of making it out of Mt. Pleasant with a victory
Tuesday night.
San Jose – Puneet Pataria put an end to any hopes Gilroy’s girls varsity volleyball team had of making it out of Mt. Pleasant with a victory Tuesday night.
She made saves and slams to keep the Mustangs reeling in a 25-11, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18 defeat.
GHS coach Sue Grogan said Pataria was clearly the difference.
“She was probably well over 6-feet-(tall), probably like 6’2″ or 6’3″, and she (was) just incredible,” Grogan said. “She can do everything. She was just everywhere. She was digging balls left and right, flying all over the place.”
While Grogan pointed out that Mt. Pleasant “historically is a good, strong team”, she also noted that Gilroy could have won if it had gotten off to a better start.
“We were just a little bit slow to warm up,” she said. “I think having – because volleyball is mental – having this big tall girl staring you down from the other side of the net, some of my girls didn’t know what to do. In the second or third game they figured out they don’t have to be afraid of her, just go around her.
“I told them there is nothing to hang their heads about this game,” Grogan said.
Setters Lindsay Meazell (13 assists) and Brittany Lewis (10 assists) led the Mustang’s attack as kills were spread across the board. Loryn Ferreira had eight slams on the night to go with one down-block, while Caitlin Chisolm had seven kills of her own. Lindsey Foster had five kills to go with two down-bocks.
With Pataria at the net almost all of the game though, Grogan admitted, “We did lots of digging.”
Sara Hugo had 22 digs and three service aces, while the team’s other Libero, Jasmine Perez, had 16 digs.
The junior varsity squad lost 22-25, 17-25 and the freshman team lost to Gunn High school 23-25, 25-11, 17-15.
The Mustangs will holds their first home games on Thursday after including Santa Teresa as a late addition to the schedule. The freshman team’s game will begin at 4:30pm with JV starting at 5:30 and varsity at 6:30.
