New coaches. Nearly entirely a new roster. It was reboot time for Hollister boys volleyball this spring.
Additionally, Hollister was not particularly tall, in a sport that values height. But the Balers bonded, tightened the defense and finished the season strongly. The early season was rough, but Hollister closed 5-7 down the stretch and came in fourth in the six-team Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division.
Importantly, the players greatly enjoyed the teamwork, camaraderie and the journey.
“This season was a transition year,” coach Michael Curto said. “We lost the last coach, the staff and nine seniors. We have a new staff. We have six seniors this year. From the beginning of the year, we exponentially grew up. At the end, we shot right up.”
Rony Salas-Ramirez was one of the few returnees and basically the only one that had a key role in 2025. Other contributors for this team were either little-used players from last year or new faces. Yet they came together, worked hard, hustled and found improvement and victories.
“It was the most fun season I’ve had,” Salas-Ramirez said. “We bonded the most of any team. We ran a 5-1 and our setter, Adrian Martinez, stepped up. We ran a lot of different plays. A shout-out to our setter. On defense, we struggled at the start of the season. We stepped it up since then.”
Salas-Ramirez was a huge force in the front line. He was athletic, with a great vertical and a powerful and quick arm swing to rack up kills.
Eddie Madrigal sparkled at libero and the team’s overall defense improved all year long. The front line got hands up on the block and Madrigal, the athletic Jaiden Herro and others worked fiercely to get balls up in the back row and help get the offense started.
Sophomore Adrian Martinez was solid at setter. Herro made major contributions as a hitter up front and as a key defensive piece. Angel Soto made big plays in the front row.
At middle, Calvin Ong and Giani Mortela stood up strong, even if not tall. Jayce Miller, AJ Bartido, Andy Carmona, Tomas Granados and Nico Haro provided depth.
Not surprisingly, the Balers started slow. As the season progressed, the team gelled on the court and off. In the latter part of the schedule, Hollister played near .500 ball. The Balers finished with a bang on Senior Night, dumping Palma in four sets before a large and loud home crowd.
There were few victories early in the year, but the team found its rhythm and the results improved. A key game was at Palma on April 15. The Balers kept coming from behind and pulled out a thrilling victory by scores of 13-25, 25-21, 16-25, 26-24, 15-12.
In the next Gabilan match, the Balers swept Alisal. The subsequent three opponents were the top schools in the league—Carmel, Monterey and Salinas. In each, Hollister took one set in a four-set loss, all better than the first contest with those opponents that resulted in three-set sweeps.
Hollister closed the year with the Senior Night game against Palma. It included thanks to the graduating players, a stellar performance on the court by all the Balers, and an exciting victory over a tall but inconsistent opponent.
The defense was sharp and Martinez’s setting was superb, as he found a wide assortment of weapons. There were few mistakes or scrambles, and the Balers were in system most of the night. Aggressive serving and hitting kept Palma scrambling and out of system, resulting in free ball hits, which limited their uber-talented middles.
“It was definitely a high-energy game,” coach Curto said. “They (my team) came ready to play. We ran fast tempo. That was to make it so that they could not run their middle. Our defense killed it. Everyone did their job. They did not want anything to drop.”
The first set went back and forth. At 19-19, Hollister roared with the final six points. Ong put one down from the middle, Salas-Ramirez rocketed a blast down to the floor and scored on a block; Martinez ended the set by serving an ace.
The second set followed the same script, tight until the late stages. Again, it reached a 19-19 tie. The Balers closed with a 6-2 charge, fueled by Salas-Ramirez ripping a kill off the block and then reading a Palma attempt to reject back an overpass and stuffing the Chieftains’ player for another point.
The third set was tight but this time, Palma pulled it out. After that, Hollister came out on fire in the fourth. The Balers, turbo-charged with nine Salas-Ramirez kills in the set, jumped ahead 4-0 and 20-11 and rolled home. Fittingly, it was a Salas-Ramirez kill on a cross that ended the night.
Salas-Ramirez shined with strong kills through or around the block, down seams with crosses and with amazing back-row blasts that befuddled the Chieftains. He totaled 25 kills.
“It was a really fun game,” Salas-Ramirez said. “We were running a lot of different plays and having fun. If they blocked me, I just hit harder. I also looked for gaps in the block. I saw gaps and I aimed for them.”
Martinez picked up key points with setter dumps and Ong had two big blocks of 6-foot-7 JD Harreld, resulting in loud yells from the crowd and the bench. Herro was solid in front and back, and Madrigal led a defensive approach that dug balls like crazy.
“Today’s game was one of the best we had,” Madrigal said. “We were energized and spirited. We were playing loose and having fun. We attacked the ball hard. On defense, we were lining up with the hitters. Calvin (Ong) got some blocks against their tall middle. We were covering the wings. And Jaiden (Herro) did great covering the back middle.”
Martinez and Herro are just sophomores and will be mainstays in the future. Graduations will again hit the team hard, but the established culture and strong finish to the season provide positive signs for the future.
“At the beginning of the year, we struggled,” Madrigal said. “But it became one of my favorite seasons. It’s like having my friends as teammates. It’s a really good feeling to finish with this win.”
