The Cougars clawed back time and time again in its MBL meet up
with Pajaro Valley. But the Grizzlies staged the ultimate comeback,
digging out of a 7-1 hole in the fifth-and-final set to steal a win
19-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 15-12.
GILROY – The learning experience continues for the Christopher High girls varsity volleyball team, but sometimes the lessons aren’t pleasant to absorb.
The Cougars are by far the youngest team in the Monterey Bay League, with four juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen on the roster.
The league portion of its schedule hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses for the Cougars, who have started 0-4, including three gut-wrenching five-set losses.
CHS found itself on the wrong end of another frustrating five-set defeat Wednesday night in Gilroy.
“Our team just needs individual motivation that leads up to team motivation,” junior co-captain Paulina Vo-Griffin said. “It’s frustrating because if we can take it to five we can win.”
The Cougars clawed back time and time again in its MBL meet up with Pajaro Valley. But the Grizzlies staged the ultimate comeback, digging out of a 7-1 hole in the fifth-and-final set to steal a win 19-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 15-12.
“It’s a lack of focus,” head coach Larry Nabzeska said. “This team was not better than us. But we keep losing in five, losing in five. We can’t put people away. We don’t have that killer attitude yet.”
Aly Olvera, Claudia Ferreira, Merrett Brown and Alex Gerberick propelled the Cougars to the sizable advantage in the deciding set, but a string of Grizzlies’ service aces sent game five spiraling in the opposite direction. Pajaro grabbed a 9-8 cushion, shrugged off a 12-12 tie and rattled off the final three points for the victory.
The match defined a true rollercoaster experience: Exciting twists and turns, moments of apprehension and an exhilarating finish.
The Cougars demonstrated glimpses of potential, whether it was a block by Hanna Tabron or a diving dig from Michele Toves. But sprinkled among the hustle plays were untimely unforced errors.
“A team has to be consistent,” Nabzeska said.
A solid first set by the Cougars gave the impression that it was their night to notch their first league win. Olvera and Ferreira each had three kills in the opening set as the Cougars led by as many as 10 and cruised to the set triumph.
An uncharacteristic amount of service errors plagued the Cougars in set two and the Grizzlies capitalized on the freebies to tie the contest.
“If we make a mistake, they are too willing to accept that mistake,” Nabzeska said. “I don’t want them to dwell on the mistake, but they have to think about them.”
The Cougars rallied from as many as six points down in a heart-pounding third set, eventually gaining the upper hand and a 2-1 match lead. With the score 19-14 in Pajaro’s favor, a Ferreira ace followed by two Olvera kills and a Grizzlies’ error put the Cougars to within one. Vo-Griffin and Olvera helped CHS to increase the lead to 24-20 before a brief run by Pajaro left the set tied 25-all. However, the Cougars hunkered down to get the much-needed two points.
“I know what they can do. I have seen them play,” Nabzeska said of his players. “I know the spirit of these girls. They are not losers. They just don’t know how to win yet.
Honestly, they are better than they show.”
The service-error bug bit the Cougars again in set four and the Grizzlies rode the gravy train to the win to even up the contest and send it into the fifth set.
The Cougars will attempt to right the ship at the Oak Grove Eagles B Invitational this weekend.
“The win is there. We can do it,” Vo-Griffin said. “Losing is becoming a pattern and people seem to be getting used to it. We just have to push ourselves. We can’t dwell on past games.”
Olvera finished with a team-high 15 kills, Ferreira had 14 kills, Tabron contributed 11 and Brown put down nine.
