Gilroy
– Seaside continues to prove that height is highly overrated in
volleyball.
”
What I’d give to have a kid 5-11,
”
Spartans’ coach Vince Rosa said.
Gilroy – Seaside continues to prove that height is highly overrated in volleyball.
“What I’d give to have a kid 5-11,” Spartans’ coach Vince Rosa said.
Don’t feel sorry for the coach or players. Seaside’s got plenty of game, as it proved Thursday in sweeping Gilroy 25-17, 26-24, 25-20 in a Tri-County Athletic League match at Bob Hagen Memorial Gym.
“It just goes to my theory that the shorter you are, the harder you jump,” GHS coach Sue Grogan said. “They’re definitely a good team. You can see they play together. They’re aggressive. They don’t let balls drop. They don’t let their height be a disadvantage.”
It was a meeting of a TCAL unbeaten against a TCAL winless team, and yet it wasn’t as one-sided as one might expect. In fact, the Mustangs (3-10 overall, 0-4 TCAL) led 7-0 in the second game and 6-1 in the third game behind some excellent serving by Kevin Bruce.
And yet, it was never enough to keep the Spartans (5-1, 4-0) down. In the second game, three straight Leo Lomboy kills turned a tie game into a 21-18 advantage for Seaside. Gilroy again battled back, tying the game at 22, 23 and 24. But a GHS service error and a Jimmy Dang block won it for Seaside.
The third game was more of the same. The Spartans fell behind and yet never let the Mustangs gain control of the match.
“Maybe we were relaxing too much,” Rosa suggested. “Our passing and digging could have been better. Our hitting and blocking were good.”
Khoa Le’s passing was on target, though, as the Spartan setter had 27 assists. Gabe Albano had eight kills, Lomboy had four kills and two blocks, and Kevin Tran had six digs. Seaside has no player taller than 5-8, according to Rosa.
Alfred Medencales, Gilroy’s answer to Seaside’s mighty mites at 5-5, had a team-high eight kills for the Mustangs. Greg Calimpong, who is a similar height as Medencales, had 15 assists. Mike Leininger had 14 digs. Bruce had seven kills, four blocks, six assists and 12 service points, including five aces.
“Our passing killed us in the first game and part of the second game,” Grogan said. “I thought we would take the third game. It’s a matter of getting in their heads that they can finish off a team.”
JV: Gilroy won the junior varsity contest 25-20, 25-17.
