Live Oak ends league season with win over Gilroy, second-place
finish
After throttling Gilroy High last Thursday night by scores of
15-4, 15-4, 15-1, the Live Oak volleyball team earned a bye in the
first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Live Oak ends league season with win over Gilroy, second-place finish
After throttling Gilroy High last Thursday night by scores of 15-4, 15-4, 15-1, the Live Oak volleyball team earned a bye in the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs.
On Saturday, the 32-6 Acorns will square off against Tri-County Athletic League powerhouse San Benito High School. The game will start at 11 a.m. at North Salinas High School.
“We’re going to need to serve harder, grow taller, block and dig and pass perfectly,” said Live Oak Coach Laura Coleman. “It should be a fun match though. And even if they beat us, we hope to keep it close.”
During the regular season, the Balers and the Acorns met twice. Although the games were competitive, Hollister came out on top both times and finished the season with a 10-0 record in league play. Overall the Balers were 24-3.
Live Oak finished tied for second in league with Notre Dame. Both schools were 7-3.
The Mustangs finished the season 7-9 overall and 3-7 in league and will not compete in post-season play.
Last Thursday, the Acorns looked to be on cruise control against the Mustangs. With superior play in all facets of the game, the Acorns dominated from start to finish.
A major reason for that was the exceptional play of senior standout Kristina Conrad, who had the Mustangs on the ropes with her smashing shots and relentless tenacity.
“They just couldn’t dig her shots,” said Coleman. “Normally, I’d take her out in a game like that; but it was senior night and I let her play the whole night.”
And it paid off.
By the end of the contest, Conrad had racked up 15 kills and ended the season with 325.
While Conrad put on a show on offense, the Acorns defensive tandem of Juliette Bowers and Amber Harvick played key roles in Gilroy’s inability to penetrate the Acorns and score.
For the night, Bowers had 13 digs and Harvick picked up 12 more.
“We were pretty consistent all night,” said Coleman. “But we’ll need to be even more so against Hollister. We’re looking forward to it though. The girls like to play Hollister. It seems to give them an adrenaline rush and they seem to play better against them.”
They need to play there best on Saturday. The Balers lineup is like an all-star sheet. The Balers have numerous league leaders in every statistical category.
Two of those players are Jacky Denton and Kim Dabo.
During the regular season, Dabo compiled 229 kills and 286 digs, which shows the balance she brings to the lineup. Denton led the league in assists with 601 and racked up 169 digs.
“Hollister has more than one superstar,” said Coleman who coached many of the 2002 Balers in club sports in Morgan Hill when they were eighth-graders and sophomores.
In preparation for the CCS playoffs this week, Coleman has had her team working on both serving and receiving.
“We’ve got a serving machine set up in the gym that I can adjust the speed on,” said Coleman. “We’re also working on our passing game. There’s nothing worse than shanking a pass.”
Coleman went on to say that if her Acorns can have a good day serving they could have a chance.
Against Gilroy, Conrad and Kim Clayton were Live Oak’s top servers.
