A fifth-place showing in a tournament at Menlo-Atherton High
School this past weekend has Gilroy’s varsity girls volleyball team
thinking it may have turned the corner.
MENLO – A fifth-place showing in a tournament at Menlo-Atherton High School this past weekend has Gilroy’s varsity girls volleyball team thinking it may have turned the corner.
Despite losing three straight matches after beating Hogan 25-12, 25-8, Mustangs coach Sue Grogan said there was a noticeable spark present in a close defeat to Soquel, the final game of the tournament. Losses before the final defeat came to Menlo-Atherton (9-25, 16-25) and Saratoga (19-25, 20-25). The Mustangs were able to advance out of pool play by having the best point differential of all eligible teams.
“The Soquel game was incredible,” Grogan said. “I watched them play smart, hard volleyball.
“I think if they can get their head in the right direction, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what we can handle.”
Handling a rugged Tri-County Athletic League schedule the rest of the season will be priority No. 1.
Gilroy split two matches last week, beating Alvarez in five sets, while falling to Notre Dame in three. The Mustangs showed flashes in their defeat to the Spirits, serving five aces and compiling 16 kills. Unfortunately for Gilroy, it also gave away those points on numerous errors that equaled or exceeded the positive plays. The team had 16 attack errors and six service errors.
“It’s kind of frustrating when you see those numbers,” Grogan said.
What has Grogan confident about her team’s prospects, not including the talent – “Overall, I think this is the best group of girls I’ve had in terms of overall skill level,” she said – is the energy, enthusiasm and communication the Mustangs (5-10) had in their final game at Menlo against Soquel (28-26, 22-25, 8-15).
“I’m hoping it was enough of a breakthrough that they can carry it over to the rest of the season,” Grogan said.
Gilroy will be back on the court tonight when it travels to Salinas. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
