GHS boys v-ball sweeps Seaside in three for second straight
league victory
SEASIDE – The Mustang spikers have hit full stride, winning their second straight league contest and avenging another earlier loss with Friday’s three-game sweep of host Seaside, 28-26, 25-15, 25-19.
Gilroy (5-7 in T-CAL), which upset Monterey (7-4) in Wednesday’s five-game thriller, turned the tables on Seaside (2-8), which had beaten the Mustangs in four games the first time around.
“The difference is we’re finally coming together. Everybody’s understanding what the game’s about,” head coach Craig Martin said. “Our mental part of the game has finally caught up to where our athletic ability is.”
The key to the Mustangs’ second victory in their last three matches was moving senior Nick Mason out from the middle to the opposite hitter position, according to Martin. Mason neutralized Seaside’s big hitter in his new spot, finishing with 20 touches on the ball and four blocks for points.
“His blocking out there was just huge,” Martin said. “It was mostly a defensive move with his size and blocking ability out there, and it seemed to work.”
Mason was initially reluctant about the move, but “by the end of the game, he was like, ‘You’re right. I needed to be out there.”
Junior Angkoon Pothong led the Mustang offense with a game-high nine kills on 13 attempts, while sophomore Ryan Dickerson followed with seven kills on 12 attempts. Seaside kept Gilroy’s kills-leader, Kyle Loving, to five kills over three games.
Martin said another key for Gilroy was the collective back-row play of teammates Patrick Largo, Ryan Chisolm and Brandt Chacon – who countered Seaside’s strong defensive play.
“We actually countered that big,” Martin said. “When Nick was not getting touches, the guys were digging the ball. When he was getting touches, he was popping the ball up in the air and they were able to get a touch on it. Those two things really put it together.”
In addition, senior setter Jason Ahumada spread the wealth, tallying a team-high 24 assists.
“They’re starting to come around big-time for us. Once we beat Monterey, it was just a huge momentum roll into Seaside,” said Martin, who has been waiting for squad to break out. “We just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”
The Mustangs have two matches remaining against Live Oak (10-0) on Wednesday in Morgan Hill and against Palma (5-6) on Friday in Gilroy. Both matches are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
“This will be a tough one with Live Oak on Wednesday. They are undefeated in league,” Martin said. “Then we get a chance to avenge another loss against Palma on Friday.”
In junior varsity action, the Mustangs went 4-2 in the prestigious Los Gatos JV Invitational. Gilroy placed second in the Silver Division, losing in the championship match.
