Gilroy
– The Gilroy High boys’ volleyball team cruised against Seaside
at home Wednesday night.
Except for in that second game.
”
We were out of sync (that game),
”
said head coach Craig Martin after his Mustangs rolled to a
25
–14, 22–25, 25–15, 25–14 league win.
Gilroy – The Gilroy High boys’ volleyball team cruised against Seaside at home Wednesday night.
Except for in that second game.
“We were out of sync (that game),” said head coach Craig Martin after his Mustangs rolled to a 25–14, 22–25, 25–15, 25–14 league win.
With middle hitter Dominic Jackson on the bench resting and icing a sore shoulder, the ‘Stangs had trouble finding their rhythm. The high-energy on the Spartans’ side didn’t help either.
“We can out–jump them and hit right over them,” Martin said. “But the thing about Seaside is that they’re just always … very scrappy.”
Martin tweaked his lineup for the third game, and with the return of Jackson, and several precision kills from outside hitter Vinny DeLorenzo, the Mustangs bounced back in the final two games of the match.
With the win, Gilroy remains in third place at 8–3 behind Monterey and Hollister in the TCAL. The Mustangs are 18–12 overall with three games left to play on the season.
Gilroy broke Game 3 open by going on a 7–0 run to build a 12–5 lead. During that stretch, DeLorenzo and Adam Moon each had two kills. DeLorenzo, who finished with a match–high 18 kills, had five kills in Game 3 and kept exploiting the crosscourt hole near the far line that Seaside’s defense left uncovered.
“We kind of spotted that spot,” Martin said.
The Mustangs carried the momentum into Game 4 and sealed the match easily.
Also contributing for Gilroy in the win were setter Patrick Largo (32 assists, 3 kills), Steven Good (5 kills, 2 aces) Ryan Chisolm (5 kills, 1 ace) and Jackson (3 kills, 4 down blocks).
Meanwhile, on April 16 at the Willow Glen Tournament, the Mustangs went 1–3 in a tough pool that featured some CCS–ranked teams. Gilroy won its only game in pool play against Chico, 23–25, 27–26, 17–16. The ‘Stangs lost to Chico later, in the first round of the tournament playoffs.
“We had to wait about two hours until the playoffs,” Martin said. “It was a matter of lost intensity from sitting around and waiting. We’d never had that before.”
Chisolm led the way with 13 kills in the win. DeLorenzo had nine kills and Jackson had four. Largo spread around 26 assists.
The Mustangs picked up a 25–13, 25–17, 25–4 win over Alisal last Wednesday, but fell to TCAL leader Monterey Friday, 21–25, 23–25, 25–23, 25–12. However, the ‘Stangs did give the Toreadors their first game loss in league play this season.
“Everything clicked for us,” Martin said. “They were just better than us … We were so emotional to beat them (in Game 3) that we came out flat (in Game 4).”
DeLorenzo led the attack against Monterey with 16 kills and two blocks. Chisolm (8 kills, 2 blocks), Jackson (3 kills, 7 down blocks) and Largo (28 assists, 4 kills, 2 down blocks) also contributed.
The Mustangs play archrival Live Oak at home tomorrow, with the goal of winning their three remaining matches to finish the season with 21 wins. The Mustangs beat the Acorns in five games in Morgan Hill in their first meeting of the season March 30.
“That’s the best we can do,” Martin said. “It’s definitely do–able because we’ve beat all of them once. It’s a matter of keeping up the intensity.”
