GHS boys volleyball team reaches q’finals in 32-team
tournament
SALINAS – The Mustang spikers had their hands full over the weekend, going up against the top 32 volleyball teams in Northern California at the Alisal Invitational in Salinas.
Gilroy, which had lost five straight league matches for a 2-5 record in T-CAL coming in, stood its ground with the big boys of the Valley and San Francisco. The Mustangs finished 1-2 in opening pool play and then won their first playoff match in the Silver Division before bowing out.
“The kids had a great time. They were loose the whole day. They understood the competition we were playing against only makes us better,” head coach Craig Martin said. “We did OK. Overall, we’re still learning.”
Following pool play, the Mustang spikers were seeded No. 11 of 12 teams in the Silver Division and faced No. 5 seed James Logan. Gilroy picked up its play and upset James Logan in three games. (In tournament action, teams play best-of-three rather than the best-of-five used in league.)
“It was great that we won a playoff game,” Martin said. “That was huge for us.”
Gilroy then fell to Branham, ranked No. 5 in the Central Coast Section, for the second time in the tournament in the Silver Division quarterfinals. In the second game, the Mustangs made Branham work for it before losing 25-20.
The Mustangs opened the tournament with a two-game match loss to Branham, giving them a fight in the second game as well, falling 26-24.
“We actually played them very, very tough,” Martin said.
In their second match, the garlic spikers defeated George Washington, of San Francisco in three games, 25-12, 6-25, 15-7. It was a bit of revenge since Gilroy lost to the same squad earlier in the Leland Tournament.
For its third match, Gilroy went up against the two-time defending Alisal Tournament Champions from Bullard High School in Fresno. The Mustangs were swept in two games.
“That was short and sweet,” Martin said. “They were absolutely amazing. We actually took a quick lead on them in second game at 8-6 before they pulled away.”
With their playoff round victory, the Mustangs finished in the top 8 of the second tier of 12 teams. The top 12 teams competed in the Gold Division and the third tier of 12 teams played in the Bronze Division.
“We were just real pleased with how things happened,” Martin said. “We came away really happy.”
Sophomore middle blocker Dominic Jackson had a stand-out tournament for Gilroy, coming up with eight blocks against Branham, while senior setter Jason Ahumada also played strong throughout, leading the Mustangs in assists.
“(Jackson’s) blocking was just amazing,” Martin said. “Jason Ahumada just played awesome at setter. He deserves a lot of credit.”
The Mustangs were without the services of senior middle Nick Mason and junior defensive specialist Calvin Kretz for the entire tournament.
Martin hopes that the level of competition in the Alisal Invitational will help his squad during the second half of the league season. It must start with Thursday’s road match against Salinas High at 6:30 p.m.
“We’re going to do something in the second half of league. We’re going to do some damage there,” Martin said. “Contend for league, who knows. But we’re definitely going to come out and do damage in league.”
