San Benito unable to earn first victory in CCS playoffs
The point of motivation was there. The execution was not.
The San Benito Haybalers are still searching for the program’s
very first win in the Central Coast Section Boys’ Volleyball
Championships.
”
We wanted to make history tonight,
”
said interim head coach Sam Klauer, referring to the history
that would have been made had the Balers been able to advance to
the second round on Tuesday night.
San Benito unable to earn first victory in CCS playoffs
The point of motivation was there. The execution was not.
The San Benito Haybalers are still searching for the program’s very first win in the Central Coast Section Boys’ Volleyball Championships.
“We wanted to make history tonight,” said interim head coach Sam Klauer, referring to the history that would have been made had the Balers been able to advance to the second round on Tuesday night.
While a date with top-seeded Bellarmine waited in the wings, the No. 8 Balers had to first dispatch No. 9 Monta Vista at Hollister’s Mattson Gym. But with miscommunications on the floor and a poor percentage from the service line only plaguing San Benito’s efforts, the visiting Matadors easily capitalized in three sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-15) by simply playing sound, consistent volleyball.
“They were a solid team,” Klauer said.
It wasn’t as if the Balers were unable to play with Monta Vista (20-14), which advances to Thursday’s CCS quarterfinal against No. 1 Bellarmine (32-7).
No, San Benito (19-10) was just simply unable to keep pace.
The Matadors, who had previously defeated the Tri-County Athletic League’s Monterey, Seaside and Watsonville in two sets each during tournament play earlier this season, limited their hitting errors both at the net and at the service line on Tuesday night, and forced the Balers to do the same.
“They played a good game today and we just weren’t executing as well as we do,” said San Benito junior setter David Hawks, who was frustrated to end the season with a loss.
“They’re a good team that came out and played hard, and I felt we played hard too,” he added. “But we just weren’t able to reach the level that we had been [playing] at this year.”
San Benito senior James Flook said the Balers had difficulty getting Hawks proper passes, however.
“We didn’t communicate. We just didn’t bring it today,” Flook said. “We didn’t play as a team.”
San Benito battled through the TCAL Tournament last week to finish in third place, falling to Monterey on Thursday but picking up a must-win match against Seaside on Friday in order to advance to the CCS postseason.
