Gilroy
– It may have been a bit of a hangover from Saturday and it may
have been that Gilroy took Salinas too lightly.
Gilroy – It may have been a bit of a hangover from Saturday and it may have been that Gilroy took Salinas too lightly.
Whatever it was, the Mustangs found themselves trailing the winless Cowboys by one game and down by as many as four points in the second Tuesday before rallying for a 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 Tri-County Athletic League win.
“We didn’t play that well as a team,” junior Kevin Bruce said. “We need to raise our team unity. In the first game, we came out flat. I guess we expected that they wouldn’t be that good because they haven’t won in two years.”
But with 6-6 Zach Gubser taking charge at the net and behind solid defense, Salinas never trailed in the first game. The Cowboys jumped ahead 5-1 in the second game before Bruce began to assert himself at the net and Greg Calimpong began to make good sets. An attack error allowed Gilroy (7-14 overall, 3-4 TCAL) to close out the second game.
The Mustangs fell behind 15-9 in the third game before a 14-3 rally buoyed by Bruce and Meer Fakhry brought Gilroy from behind. But the Mustangs again fell behind by six in the third game, 14-8, before coming back. Fakhry had two kills and a block in a finishing flurry.
“A win’s a win’s a win,” GHS coach Sue Grogan said. “We’re trying to get in sync. Maybe I mixed things up one too many times (trying to find a combination that will work).”
Bruce had 17 kills, three blocks and 12 service points. Fakhry had 10 kills. Thomas Costa had 18 digs as libero. After a slow start, Calimpong had 29 assists and five aces.
“It was tough Saturday (in the Charger Classic at Leland where Gilroy went 1-4) and maybe there was a little carry over,” Bruce said. “We need to practice together and step up our intensity at practices.”
Grogan promises that will happen. The Mustangs are off until April 12 when they start the second half of TCAL play at San Benito.
“We need to get our intensity up,” Grogan said. “We will still keep trying different combinations. We’ve got to loosen up a little bit and quit playing so tight. It’s almost as if we’re playing not to lose rather than to win.”
