Girls’ VB runs win streak to 20; injuries hurt girls’ tennis in
loss
Returning to action for the first time since a disastrous weekend at the South Valley Polo-Fest, the San Benito boys’ water polo team took out its frustrations on Palma. Scoring nearly at will, the ‘Balers thumped the visiting Chieftains 18-2 on Tuesday to keep their perfect league record intact.
After suffering a 6-3 defeat to longtime rival Live Oak in Morgan Hill Friday, San Benito (12-7) was forced to play Salinas short-handed, as five seniors missed the contest while taking the SATs Saturday. The ‘Balers had defeated the Cowboys twice early in the season, but fell 8-0 as their starting lineup took a significant hit. San Benito then dropped its tournament finale to St. Ignatius, 8-5.
But against Palma, a first-year varsity program, all was suddenly well again. With contributions from up and down the lineup, the ‘Balers improved to 6-0 in Tri-County Athletic League matches. “Virtually everyone on the team managed to get something in the goal,” San Benito coach Tom Agan said.
Set to wrap up their regular season with a game at Gilroy on Oct. 26, the ‘Balers are the heavy favorite for the top seed in the TCAL Tournament, which begins the following week.
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
Dean Askanas finds himself in an enviable situation after the San Benito girls’ volleyball team ran roughshod over yet another TCAL foe Tuesday night. Following the ‘Balers’ convincing, three-game win at North Salinas on Tuesday, the San Benito coach singled out the play of his reserves as an area the team most needs to focus on with the postseason fast approaching.
After the starting rotation overwhelmed the Vikings in back-to-back, 25-8 wins to begin the match, Askanas emptied his bench and let his reserves play the bulk of the third game. The result? An adventurous 25-23 finale that San Benito eventually secured to keep alive its streak of not having lost a league game all year.
“I feel it makes our team stronger to have our bench play in these competitive situations,” Askanas said, “(but) I’m concerned with our lack of depth. We rely on our starters. … I would like to see our team get deeper, see our bench get stronger so it can hold its own.”
Nevertheless, the ‘Balers once again showed that they are the class of the league. San Benito sits at 8-0 in TCAL matches this year, and Tuesday’s win ran their two-year winning streak to an even 20 matches.
Junior opposite Emily Kortsen led the ‘Balers with 11 kills against North Salinas.
San Benito (22-4) hosts Alvarez on Thursday and then plays in the Presentation Tournament this weekend, a prestigious affair that includes heavyweights Mitty, St. Francis, St. Mary’s (Berkeley), Los Altos, Menlo and host Presentation.
GIRLS’ TENNIS
With two singles players sidelined with injuries, the San Benito girls’ tennis team has hit a rough patch, losing its fourth straight match on Tuesday. The ‘Balers suffered a back-and-forth, 4-3 loss at North Salinas without the services of Lizzy Gatto and Rachel Maheu.
San Benito No. 1 singles player Amanda Marshall breezed through her match, winning 6-0, 6-0, and the ‘Balers’ No. 2 doubles team of Elena Fata and Abby Woods contributed a healthy 6-1, 6-1 win of its own. And fill-in No. 3 singles player Yumi Chang, playing in just her second varsity singles match, won 6-4, 7-6.
But San Benito (6-10) dropped close matches at No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles that swayed the outcome in favor of the Vikings, a team the ‘Balers defeated 5-2 on Sep. 21.
“We’re going with what we had,” San Benito head coach Ed Cecena said, “and it’s not enough.”
With three matches to play and the team sitting at 4-5 in the league, ‘Balers hope to finish their season with a .500 TCAL record. San Benito hosts Alvarez at Ridgemark on Thursday before wrapping up its season with matches against Alisal and Salinas next week.
JV BOYS’ WATER POLO
Following a season-opening loss to Salinas, the San Benito JV boys’ water polo has won all the rest of its TCAL games. The ‘Balers continued that streak by defeating Palma 11-6 on Tuesday in Hollister.
Driver Ryan Whiteside led San Benito (5-1 TCAL) with five goals, and Robert Marks contributed three scores of his own.
The ‘Balers sit at 12-5 overall and complete their season by facing Gilroy on Oct. 26.
