Volleyball is just as mental as it is physical, and that may
have been proven on Saturday night.
San JOSE
Volleyball is just as mental as it is physical, and that may have been proven on Saturday night.
Playing for the second time in as many years in the Central Coast Section Girls Volleyball Championship, No. 2 San Benito and No. 1 Homestead met up once again in a rematch at Independence High School.
San Benito defeated Homestead in four games in last year’s CCS final, and had beaten the Mustangs two out of three times already this season.
Although the match began in a similar fashion for the Lady ‘Balers Saturday, Homestead, in the end, managed to avenge with a victory.
After the Lady ‘Balers cruised to an opening-game win, and even held an early 12-7 lead in game two, the Mustangs marched right back to not only take game two, but the Division I title as well in four games (20-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-9).
“It’s just a mental game out there, and we got lulled to sleep,” coach Dean Askanas said. “We played good the first game, and they were tight the first game. And then we kind of felt we had it in the bag, and we really went to sleep …”
As a consolation, the top-two finish for San Benito places them into tonight’s CIF Nor-Cal State Volleyball Championships. They are listed as a 4-seed, and will host San Ramon Valley (Danville) at San Benito High School at 7 p.m.
Homestead earned a 2-seed and will host Lowell tonight as well. Nevada Union earned the top spot in Nor-Cal, will host Skyline tonight, and could meet San Benito in Saturday’s second round if both teams advance.
But after the loss to Homestead, San Benito will need to regroup first in order to make it to the second round of Nor-Cal.
“It was too easy for a while. They (Homestead) were missing their passes. They were missing their hits,” Askanas said. “So we just stopped playing because they were handing it to us. And then when they started playing, we never kicked it back into gear.”
San Benito took the first game somewhat easily, as they nabbed a 1-0 lead at the start and never trailed for the remainder of the game. They led by as many as seven points, while Homestead had difficulty matching San Benito’s output.
But after the Lady ‘Balers jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the second game, the tide began to turn. Homestead would tie the game at 13-13 on a pair of kills from Justine Wales, and eventually outscored San Benito 12-5 for the remainder of the second game.
“It really wasn’t any one thing,” Ali Sharp said. “We played a little bit scared because they were so pumped up and we weren’t, and that’s what started the deficit.”
For the remaining two games, Homestead controlled the play and prevented San Benito from mounting any comeback. Aside from two separate ties in the third game, Homestead held a lead for all but three plays over the remaining two games.
“I don’t think we were playing well as a team,” Kelsey Jackson said. “It was mental. We knew we had the skill, just everything wasn’t there.”
Emily Kortsen led with 16 kills, Bri Romero had 20 digs and Justine Hunter provided 27 assists for San Benito. Samantha Klauer also contributed with 10 digs, and Megan Halstead had four blocks.
After the match, Askanas told his team that their season is not over, as a Nor-Cal title is within striking distance.
Players and coach alike gave credit to Homestead afterward for their preparation and intensity, but a loss in the CCS final may light a fire under San Benito for their next postseason tournament.
“It makes us want to come out that much harder and win that much more knowing that we just got our butts kicked,” Romero said. “We’re not going to want that to happen again. It’s a big game, but we still have Nor-Cals.”
