Inspired by an enthusiastic home crowd, the Christopher High girls volleyball team swept crosstown rival Gilroy High 25-23, 25-20, 25-13 in Round 1 between the two teams Tuesday night.
Gilroy will host Christopher in the rematch on Oct. 18.
Neither team acted as though they wanted to yield any sort of edge to the other, and with something for fans to cheer about after every exchange, on cue, boisterous support backed each big play, dig, kill and long rally.
The Cougars (5-8 overall 2-1 Monterey Bay League Pacific Division) staved off a charging Mustangs (1-1 MBL Pacific) in the first set. Deadlocked at 23-23, a Brittney Souza point and Joy Kirkwood ace wrapped up the first set for the Cougars.
After trailing by as many as five in the first set, Gilroy tied the opening stanza at 18-18 after a Demi Snapp ace, and grabbed a brief 19-18 advantage following a CHS unforced error. Back-to-back kills from Hanna and Olivia Tabron gave CHS a bit of breathing room at 23-21. But the Mustangs responded with a Lelani Mah block for a point and Meghan Adams kill to bring the game to the 23-23 juncture.
CHS separated itself from GHS in the second, embarking on an extended run after the sides were tied at 11-11. The Cougars used that momentum, and their strong front line of hitters, to run away with the third set.
Hanna Tabron (11), Olivia Tabron (10) and Emily Doughty (eight) accounted for 29 of the Cougars 38 total kills in the match. Alex Gerberick had four aces, three coming in a 9-0 run that broke open the second set. Mah finished with six kills and four blocks, Adams had five kills and Haley Sepulveda had two aces for the Mustangs.
Read more about this match in Friday’s print edition of the Gilroy Dispatch.
FIELD HOCKEY
Emma Leach had two first half goals and three other players tallied one in the second half as Gilroy High blanked Los Altos 5-0 in Mount Hamilton Division play Tuesday.
Alex Kachakji had one goal and two assists, and Morgan Rogers and Cassidy Andersen had the other goals for Gilroy. Ezzie Gobea had an assist.
The Mustangs led 2-0 at halftime. In all. GHS took 18 shots and earned 10 short-corners, converting three.
“I thought the intensity was high enough to get the job done,” head coach Adam Gemar said. “It was a good game for us after the Los Gatos loss to get our bearings back.”
GHS (10- overall, 2-1 league) travels to San Jose to challenge league opponent Mitty on Thursday.
• Christopher High stayed clean inside Mission Trail Athletic League play with a 3-0 shutout of Notre Dame on Tuesday in Gilroy.
Kristen Flores, Sherelle Butler and Melanie Tanaka each registered a goal for the Cougars, who improve to 5-0-2 overall and 4-0 in league.
Head coach Lia Peterson pointed to goalies Kyle Robinson’s play in cage and credited Emily Hilkene with standout stick-handling for the CHS defense. Robinson made seven saves.
The Cougars are off the rest of the week, but kick back into MTAL action next Tuesday at home against Monterey. Game time is 3:30 p.m.
TENNIS
Christopher High improved to 2-0 in the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division with a 5-2 road victory over Monte Vista Christian on Tuesday.
No. 1-singles player Emily Barham and No. 4-singles player Nubia Juarez each won 6-1, 6-2. Shelby O’Hara closed out her match at No. 2-singles 6-4, 6-0.
Tiffany Roberts and Yvonne AuYeung delivered a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1-doubles.
“They communicated well as a team, with Tiffany running down numerous lobs and coming back with some great defensive shots,” head coach Patrick McBrearty said.
At No. 3-doubles, Jade Bardrick and Karoline Velazquez notched a 6-1, 6-0 win.
The Cougars face Alvarez in a league match Thursday.
“That will be one of our key matches as both schools have good depth on the benches with very competitive players,” McBrearty said.
WATER POLO
Palma bolted out to an 11-1 lead en route to a 14-4 victory over the GHS boys on Tuesday.
