San Benito stays perfect on the season, defeats Watsonville in
three games to improve to 7-0
WATSONVILLE
The first half of the regular season is complete and the San Benito boys volleyball team remains perfect on the year as it silenced host Watsonville Tuesday in three games (25-18, 25-10, 25-19).
Behind 35 assists from setter Adrian Rodriguez, 10 kills from Jakob Rice and 20 digs from Danny Ruiz, the Haybalers are now 7-0 in the TCAL, having defeated each and every league opponent, having won all seven matches by 3-0 margins.
Being undefeated, though, is not something San Benito thinks about, head coach Luis Espinoza said.
“As long as we play well, that’s what they want to accomplish,” Espinoza said. “As long as we play well, that’s all that matters.
“Being undefeated is not the priority.”
But playing consistently well will certainly lead to a fair share of victories. The ‘Balers are now winners of 11 of their last 15 matches – the four losses coming in tournament play.
And Tuesday’s win at Watsonville added to the team’s impressive TCAL streak.
Following a somewhat close 25-18 first-set victory, San Benito cruised in the second set 25-10.
“I would say they kind of underestimated Watsonville,” Espinoza said.
“It was one of those games where we actually had to put the ball down and make sure they didn’t pick it up … The second game, we were on and we just kept playing.”
Erik Rodriguez and Roy Powell added eight kills apiece, while Brian Hawks had seven and Javier Castaneda put down five. Powell contributed three blocks, Rodriguez and Hawks had two, while Rodriguez also shined from the service line with five aces.
The ‘Balers (16-7 overall) will start the second half of the TCAL schedule on Thursday at Alisal in Salinas. Match time is 6:30 p.m.
“The boys did well,” Espinoza said. “After the game, I reminded them it’s gonna be tougher from here on out. They have a big target on their chest. They’re the team to beat.
“Watsonville was gunning for us, but we were ready.”
TEAM 1 2 3
SAN BENITO 25 25 25
WATSONVILLE 18 10 19
