The omens seemed to be pointed in the direction of the Hollister
High boys volleyball team.
The omens seemed to be pointed in the direction of the Hollister High boys volleyball team.
Visiting Monterey was awarded an early point in game one, but the Balers, who nearly had it done again to them late in the same game, somehow survived to take the first game 17-15.
But the Toreadores, who hadn’t won a match entering Wednesday’s Tri-County Athletic League opener at Mattson Gym, were the hungrier team. The ‘Dores won a crazy game two 16-14, then rattled off 15-7, 15-9 victories to capture the match 3-1.
Monterey (1-4, 1-0) was the antithesis of the Balers (3-4, 0-1) as far as energy. The ‘Dores yelled and cavorted after every sideout or winner, while the Balers didn’t show an ounce of emotion and didn’t make a peep.
“It didn’t affect me,” said Baler senior middle blocker Brannon Wynn of the loud Toreadores. “But, it might have affected our younger players. Our inexperience showed the last two games.”
“We could have used a little more energy,” added Baler setter Jeff Hawks, who played well for a sophomore still earning his stripes at setter.
The paltry crowd must have had a hard time figuring this one out. And if anyone was paying attention with the ‘Dores serving at 1-1 in game one, they might have been even more confused. The ‘Dores eventually hit the ball out and the up ref raised both arms to signal that the ball was hit out-of-bounds. But instead of signalling sideout-Balers, he raised his hand signaling point-Monterey. The ball, however, went over to the Balers, who served away as if not knowing that the ‘Dores were just given a freebee.
“I have no assistant,” said Baler head coach Henke Mao as to why he didn’t notice the scoring error. “I’m trying to make sure we’re in the right defense.”
Mao woke up in time to protest another near scoring mistake late in game one. Down 12-13, Monterey’s israel Rodriguez got sideout with a kill. After the down ref checked the scorebook, he gave the Toreadores a point for 14-12. The point would have stood, but Mao protested and the mistake was eventually corrected. That was big for the ‘Dores did, in fact, go up 14-12, which would have been game point.
The Balers rallied to tie the score 14-14, then went ahead 15-14. A Baler violation knotted it at 15-all. Wynn, who had seven kills, hammered a freeball for 16-15, then the ‘Dores hit one into the net for game point.
“He didn’t have many kills,” said Monterey head coach David Swartz of Wynn. “But he created opportunities for other players. We had trouble defending him because he’s late with his left hand. He’s a good player.”
The Balers were up 10-5 in game two after a Peter Prak kill and a Hawks ace. Wynn donated a serve which wasn’t returned for 11-5. However, Monterey was ignited by the wicked jump-serving of veteran Adam Bristow. Bristow had three aces in a four-point ‘Dores run.
The game went back-and-forth. A kill by Hawks on a freeball tied the score 13-13 and Toreadores coach David Swartz burned a timeout. The Balers threatened to take a two games to none lead when Edward Kauffman’s serve wasn’t returned for 14-13. The Toreadores reeled off the next three points to regain momentum.
“We had too many service errors at the end of game two,” said Mao. “We fell apart. We weren’t moving our feet. No one is taking responsibility. We’re not even playing the right defense.”
“We made too many mistakes,” said Hawks. “It’s nothing we can’t fix in practice.”
Swartz, who was steaming after blowing the lead in game one, said the two teams are similar in many ways.
“We’re doing what Henke is doing on his side of the bench,” he said. “We had to switch players around and the players are still trying to get to know each other. It was sloppy at times out there, but I expected that this early in the season. We just picked up our intensity in the last two games and started hitting the ball better.”
The Balers were led by 11 kills from Tomas Rebecchi.
Bristow, who has good hops for being 5-11, was the man for the ‘Dores with 19 kills and 11 digs. Garin Noble, whose dad, Pete, will return to head the Monterey football program this fall, had eight kills.
JV score: Baler JV’s won 7-15, 15-1, 15-12. Sue Grogan’s team is now 2-1 overall.
