After opening night win, tired Gilroy spikers fall to Anzar in
error-filled match
San Juan Bautista – The Gilroy girls’ volleyball team needed two comebacks to keep up with Anzar on the Hawks’ home court Wednesday night.
The ‘Stangs pulled them off, but the second one wasn’t enough to give them a victory.
After making a late run from behind to take Game 4 from the Hawks, the Mustangs fell victim to some tough serving in the fifth game and eventually lost a nail-biter 22-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 14-16.
The Mustangs were only down a point in the decisive game when Anzar’s freshman standout Erin Deleissegues got to the service line. The outside served three aces in a row to stretch Anzar’s lead to 8-3 and forced Gilroy to call a timeout to re-group.
Later in the game, the ‘Stangs did.
Down 14-7, Gilroy rallied for seven straight points. On an attack, Mustang senior outside Sara Griffis (five kills) got a lucky bounce off the net which resulted in the ball hitting the floor inside Anzar’s 10-foot line. Middle hitter Isabelle Szucs followed with a kill and down block to bring Gilroy within 10-14. A Hawk hitting error and a tip kill from junior outside Kayla Meazell, who led the ‘Stangs with six kills, brought Gilroy to 12-14. Then senior outside Jessica Groppe (five kills) served an ace – one of nine for her on the night – and Anzar sent another kill wide that helped Gilroy get even at 14-14.
That would be as close as the ‘Stangs got as Anzar capitalized on two Gilroy errors for the win.
Those mistakes in the final game weren’t the only ones that plagued Gilroy. The ‘Stangs struggled with miscues throughout the whole match.
“Our problem was just errors, that’s what got us,” Gilroy coach Sue Grogan said. “(The team) really looked draggy … they were all hunched over and just picked it up too late.”
After losing the first game, Gilroy played smart and controlled volleyball in the second game and stalled Anzar’s momentum. The Hawks fell back by as many as 10 points before losing 25-18.
“After the first game, they were trying to find their rhythm,” said Grogan of her squad. “It was a matter of them getting their timing down.”
But in the third game, Anzar came back and broke away from Gilroy for a 10-5 lead. Junior setter Amy Knight (24 assists, five kills) had a kill and junior outside Aandra Fujita (five kills) served two aces during that span.
Leading 14-10 later in the game, Anzar scored six straight points to take a commanding 20-10 lead. A kill and down block by sophomore middle Christina Flores (seven kills) and an ace serve from sophomore opposite Jaclyn Wiley highlighted the 6-0 run that propelled Anzar to the Game 3 win.
In the fourth game, Gilroy trailed for more than half the game. But back-to-back kills from sophomore middle Caitlin Chisolm and Szucs and a Hawk error gave the ‘Stangs a 19-18 lead, which they never relinquished.
In the fifth game, Anzar fended off the Gilroy comeback to seal the win.
Gilroy setters Katherine Hussey and Jennifer Smith had 12 and seven assists, respectively.
Gilroy, now 1-1, gets no rest. The ‘Stangs travel to North Monterey County this evening, where Grogan would like to see a more fiery performance.
“I hope they get charged up,” she said.
