The first two games of Friday night’s league match against rival
Live Oak were nothing to write home about, as the Mustang spikers
lost both by double digits, 15-25 and 12-25.
GILROY – The first two games of Friday night’s league match against rival Live Oak were nothing to write home about, as the Mustang spikers lost both by double digits, 15-25 and 12-25.
But the third game showed just how good Gilroy can be once they put all the pieces together on a team filled with inexperienced, yet athletic, players. Although the Mustangs could not avoid the three-game sweep, they battled point for point with the Acorns before faltering down the stretch, 25-17.
“We played hard. That’s the hardest we’ve played in a long time,” said head coach Craig Martin, whose squad lost its fourth straight match in the Tri-County Athletic League.
Assistant coach Rich Hammond agreed: “We did play hard, so we can walk away feeling good about that.”
Gilroy (4-8 overall) dropped to 2-4 in T-CAL, after winning its first two matches, while Live Oak (7-2 overall) won its fifth straight contest to remain atop the league at 5-0.
“They’re a great defensive team,” said Martin of Live Oak.
The Mustang spikers did have their moments, and behind most of the positives was senior hitter Kyle Loving – who finished with a team-high seven kills and added one dig – and senior setter Jay Ahumada – who tallied a team-high 13 assists.
“Kyle Loving was phenomenal tonight,” Hammond said. “Some of the balls he hit were just phenomenal.”
Middle blocker Dominic Jackson recorded a team-high 10 blocks and teammate Ryan Dickerson added seven rejections for the Mustangs. Senior Brandt Chacon registered a team-high six digs. In addition, senior Nick Mason had two kills and Ankoon Pothong had three kills.
“We have an extreme amount of talent. We’re so athletic and so tall. We just need a little more time on the court together,” Loving said. “I can always improve. I need to light a fire and get the team going. We wait until the third game to start playing. We need to start playing earlier than that.”
The Mustangs fell behind early in the first two games and could not recover, but they jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in game-three. Live Oak, however, rallied for the next four points to take the lead. Gilroy kept pace, as the final game saw 11 tie scores before the Acorns took control.
“(The Acorns) talk more and communicate more and never let the ball drop,” Loving said. “At times, we’re not talking and we’re letting balls drop in and that kills us.”
Up next, the Gilroy spikers will hit the road to battle Palma High on Tuesday and then take a break until an April 15 road clash against Salinas High. Both matches are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
