Gilroy’s varsity girls volleyball team was dangerously close to
not making the postseason. Then on Saturday it was announced the
team would play at Oak Grove in the first round. Now, the Mustangs
are preparing for a home playoff game against the Milpitas Trojans
tonight at 7:00 p.m.
Gilroy’s varsity girls volleyball team was dangerously close to not making the postseason. Then on Saturday it was announced the team would play at Oak Grove in the first round. Now, the Mustangs are preparing for a home playoff game against the Milpitas Trojans tonight at 7:00 p.m.
Confused? So was GHS head coach Sue Grogan.
“Something happened even after I left (the CCS seeding meeting),” Grogan said. “Originally we were supposed to play Oak Grove at Oak Grove. We were seeded higher but they won their league.”
The CCS system dictates a league title guarantees a home game. Gilroy finished fifth in the Tri-County Athletic League.
“But because of some kind of a problem with how the points were done or issues, I don’t even know, they added one more team into the Division I playoffs,” Grogan continued. “Usually, there’s nine (teams), this year there’s 10.”
The result is a playoff game in Gilroy (16-17) for the second year in a row.
The matchup is difficult to break down considering none of Gilroy’s coaches or players have seen Milpitas (14-17) play this season.
“All I know is bits and pieces that other coaches have told me,” Grogan said. “They didn’t have anything definitive to say about them. We’re really going into this somewhat blindly.”
A look at the schedule says Gilroy is playing a team in a free-fall. Milpitas has lost 10 of its last 14 matches. One factor that provides a little bit of uncertainty is that the Trojans are 4-2 on the road this year.
“I think it’s too our advantage … not knowing exactly what you’re going against,” Grogan said. “Why not come out swinging and roll with the punches, which I think [our] team does really well.”
With six players returning from last year’s CCS squad, the Mustangs have enough experience to know what they’re up against. The team also has found a way to rally after several players quit the team during the season.
“I think everyone has played pretty consistently throughout the season,” Grogan said. “[Caitlin Chisolm and Katelin Faria] kind of held the team together. They’re the backbone that a team needs to feel safe and secure so that the other players can worry about their job.”
If the Mustangs are able to get the job done, they would face No. 1 seed Homestead in the quarterfinals on Nov. 10.
