A group of Mustangs won Thursday night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t
the ones from Gilroy.
A group of Mustangs won Thursday night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the ones from Gilroy.
In the biggest game of the season, Gilroy High’s boys volleyball team couldn’t sustain the intensity it had shown just two days prior while dispatching Monta Vista in four games, losing to Homestead High School in three sets: 20-25, 14-25, 10-25.
Win or go home was the stakes in the second round Central Coast Section playoff contest, and the Mustangs simply couldn’t answer after a close first game.
“The guys were a little flat,” Gilroy coach Sue Grogan said. “I don’t know if it was nerves or what.
“We just couldn’t find our groove.”
Kevin Bruce was limited to seven kills after dominating Monta Vista with an all-around performance of 13 slams, three aces, seven digs and seven blocks. Bruce wasn’t alone in finding little room to maneuver at the net, as many of the Mustangs struggled to find spots to attack.
“Definitely, Homestead had a lot to do with it,” Grogan said. “Homestead was all over the net.
“There were plenty of guys that had fire behind themselves, but couldn’t quite make it work.”
Greg Calimpong had all 15 of Gilroy’s assists and Michael Leininger had a team-high 16 digs.
Overall, Gilroy was limited to four service aces, four blocks spread amongst four individuals and 15 kills.
The match was a far different affair from what Gilroy fans witnessed Tuesday night.
Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, the Mustangs got a first-round CCS playoff victory in four games (25-20, 20-25, 25-10, 25-22) over visiting Monta Vista.
Thomas Costa had 10 kills and Calimpong finished with 33 assists in that contest. Leininger had 24 digs, Paolo Palao pitched in seven kills, Sean O’Neill recorded five kills and four digs, and Alfred Medenceles plucked seven digs.
The team finishes the season with a 21-14 record, a vast improvement from a season ago when Gilroy closed out the schedule with a 10-22 record.
