Second-place team still invited to Nor Cal State
Championship
There won’t be a new Central Coast Section Girls’ Volleyball
Championship banner draped on the wall in the gymnasium at San
Benito High this fall
– but there could be one coming for winning the Northern
California State Championship.
Second-place team still invited to Nor Cal State Championship
There won’t be a new Central Coast Section Girls’ Volleyball Championship banner draped on the wall in the gymnasium at San Benito High this fall – but there could be one coming for winning the Northern California State Championship.
On Saturday, the No. 2 seeded Baler girls volleyball team – the last team still standing from six different sports teams from San Benito High that made the fall playoffs – wound up losing 20-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-9 to top-seeded Homestead High in the CCS championship game.
Despite the loss, the Lady Balers were invited to the prestigious Northern California State meet by way of their second-place finish at CCS. On Tuesday, after the Pinnacle’s press time, the Balers – runner ups in last year’s state tournament – played host to Danville’s San Ramon Valley High School in the Nor Cal Division I state quarterfinals.
“We had a little talk after losing to Homestead in the CCS finals,” San Benito High coach Dean Askanas said on Monday. “No one was really happy with losing so hopefully we can rebound in the state tournament.”
Against Homestead, the Balers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in games before jumping out to a 13-7 lead in the second game. At the time, they appeared to have a commanding lead and all of the momentum was going their way. Then the bottom fell out.
“Homestead looked a little nervous in the beginning and we were looking pretty good,” Askanas said. “Then we started to get too comfortable and it started going the other way. When they saw that we started to lose our confidence the tables turned. If we kept our focus and stayed strong, we could have won. This showed our team that it’s never over until it’s over. You’ve got to play to the last whistle. I would have rather seen us learn that lesson in the preseason – not in the CCS championship game.”
Despite the loss, the Balers got solid outings from a number of players. Senior opposite hitter Emily Kortsen had 16 kills and seven digs to lead the Balers.
Middle blocker Bri Romero, who had to exit the state title game a year ago with a career-threatening knee injury, had 20 digs and nine kills against Homestead. Junior Justine Hunter had 27 assists and Megan Halstead had four blocks.
Prior to the showdown with San Ramon Valley on Tuesday night, Askanas was trying to muster up as much information as he could about the team his squad would face.
“I know that most of their balls go to their outside hitter. She is a good player,” Askanas said on Monday. “These guys are definitely good. We’re going to have to play a whole lot better than we did on Saturday to win.”
Another concern Askanas had heading into the state tournament was his team’s overall mental state and belief in its ability to compete with the best teams.
“They need to be able to perceive that this is doable. They have to know that winning the Nor Cals is obtainable and get excited again to play. Sometimes, that is tough to do after a hard loss. We’ll just wait and see.”
