San Benito took a significant step in a push toward a Central
Coast Section playoff berth, beating second-place Seaside in a
five-game thriller on the road Tuesday, 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 18,
15-13.
San Benito took a significant step in a push toward a Central Coast Section playoff berth, beating second-place Seaside in a five-game thriller on the road Tuesday, 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 18, 15-13.
Coupled with Alisal’s four game loss to Gilroy, the Haybalers moved into a tie for second place in the Tri-County Athletic League
“This win was huge,” said San Benito coach Luis Espinoza, whose team improved to 9-9 overall and 6-3 in league, matching the TCAL record of Seaside and Alisal.
“We came off this past weekend taking fifth place in the San Francisco Invitational and we were playing well toward the end (of the tournament),” Espinoza said. “We knew coming off this tournament that we were going to be able to play against Seaside.”
Six-foot-8 senior Sterling Wilson, in his first year of competitive volleyball, had his strongest outing of the year. He recorded a season-best 23 kills and added seven blocks.
“They really didn’t have an answer for Sterling,” Espinoza said. “Every time he came up to the front row he just put it away. He still has a lot to learn but this was his break-out game. All the guys around him wanted him to have a big game tonight.”
Luis Rosales complemented the big hitters, dishing out 38 assists while also recorded seven blocks and three aces. Erik Rodriguez added 14 kills and Chris Flippo had eight kills and eight digs.
“We limited our mistakes and were able to run our offense a lot faster,” Espinoza said. “The guys have worked really hard for where they’re at. They earned this win.”
The ‘Balers return to action with their homecoming game at 6:30pm Thursday against Watsonville.
“I told the guys they need to keep intensity up and put these guys away in three,” Espinoza said.
