Post-season snubbing doesn’t sit well with the Gilroy boys
volleyball team.
GILROY – With nine seniors filling the Gilroy High boys volleyball team’s opening day roster this season – including three returning All-League honorees – the Mustang spikers are set to tear up the hard court as well as their Tri-County Athletic League opponents.
Senior outside hitters Scott Martin (first team) and Jason Medenceles (second team) head up the offensive attack with fellow senior defensive specialist Tucker Baksa (honorable mention) and middle blockers, senior Josh Gravell and junior Kyle Loving, anchoring the block-dig-and-pass unit.
“They’re all real hungry,” said head coach Craig Martin of his senior laden bunch who are all too familiar with getting snubbed of a playoff spot despite an 11-3 run in league and 18-12 overall mark.
“Last year was such a disappointment having such a good league season and then not making the playoffs. They’ve all just come back real hungry,” the coach added. “At practice last night, (Coach Jay Baksa) turns to me and says these guys look like their in midseason form.”
There’s a reason for that though with Coach Martin starting up an under-18 club volleyball team that was made up of mostly Mustangs, a couple of Live Oak hitters, and one from Bellarmine.
“Because of the club team and a lot of these guys are four-year players, practices are real serious. Everyone is real hungry and real eager to play,” said Martin, whose squad opens up its non-league schedule with Thursday’s home game against Pioneer at 6:45 p.m.
The goals of the club team – which played in six tournaments from September through November (at least 60 games) – was to work on defense and blocking.
“Second thing was to try new things that we don’t have time for in high school when things really count like new techniques, new serving techniques, and just giving the kids an opportunity to try new stuff,” added Coach Martin, who also held open gyms for volleyball up to Feb. 1 and plans on adding a 16-under club team next year. “They’re just dying to play.”
Martin and Medenceles both have front and back row duties because of their versatility – but the senior duo is expected to bring down the pain with kills from their outside hitter positions .
“He’ll go all the way around for us because he’s one of the better back row players we have. He’s just a good all-around volleyball player,” said Coach Martin of his son. “(Medenceles is probably our most powerful hitter… They’re real good because when we have one in the front row the other is in the back row.”
Then, add senior outside hitter John Bowe – who recorded 27 kills in the Mustangs’ season finale against Live Oak last year – into the mix for Gilroy.
“He’s really matured over the year as a result of the whole team playing club volleyball together,” said Martin of Bowe. “He’s the one I think club volleyball helped the most. He’s just killing the ball.”
Baksa monitored the back row last year – but “he’s grown so much he might be playing some outside hitter, too.”
Gravell (6’3) and Loving (6’2) fill the middle for the Mustangs especially on defense and set up the key blocks necessary for a complete team. “They’ve got to be able to read everything for blocking,” Martin said.
Setting up the action for the hitters will be the Largo boys up from the junior varsity – senior Matt Largo and sophomore Patrick Largo. Junior setter Jay Ahumada broke his ankle and is expected to miss most of the season.
“Matt’s a four-year player. He started playing when he was a freshmen,” Martin said. “Since we had Josh Gravell last year, there was no need for him last year… so he was able to get all those repetitions on JV.”
Also up from last year’s junior varsity are senior defensive specialist Daniel Cabrera and junior big man Nick Mason – at six-foot-five the tallest of the Mustang spikers.
The two newcomers to this year’s punishing crew are both seniors – outside hitter Mike Faria and defensive specialist Danny Vadillo, who played on JV two years ago.
“He’s been an early surprise,” said Martin of Vadillo. “He’s all over the court. He’s very athletic.”
This season, if a match – which is best three-out-of-five – is pushed to a fifth game, it will be played in rally format, where points are scored by both teams regardless of who is serving.
And this year’s Gilroy flyers are also in the running for the section’s scholar volleyball team of the year.
“We have a chance of doing that,” Martin said. “They’re all good students and they’re all good kids.”
