Behind 12 kills from Roy Powell and 35 assists from Adrian
Rodriguez, San Benito swept Gilroy 25-11, 25-7, 26-24 Tuesday, and
now are one win away from its first TCAL title since 2001
HOLLISTER
By the end of the second set Tuesday, it was clear as can be which team was ahead – no need to even look at the scoreboard.
On one side, the Gilroy Mustangs, which carried an undeniable scowl on to the court at Mattson Gym, and appeared dejected despite only two sets into the match.
On the other, the San Benito Haybalers, which couldn’t help but smile and break into dance before the start of the third set, especially after the way the first two had played out.
“Mentally, Hollister was prepared and ready to play,” Gilroy head coach Scott Martin said. “We thought we were until about five points into Game 1. I knew right away it was going to be a long night for us.
“You could see it on the kids faces, you could see it on the kids’ body language. We were just not mentally there, not ready to play.”
In a match between the two best teams in the Tri-County Athletic League, in front of the largest and most intense home crowd Hollister has enjoyed all season, the host Haybalers dominated the first two games Tuesday en route to a three-game sweep (25-11, 25-7, 26-24) of Gilroy – a victory that may provide San Benito with enough steam to win-out the remaining games on its schedule.
Accomplishing that feat would supply the ‘Balers with an undefeated record in league, while just one more win would give San Benito its first TCAL title since 2001.
“It was awesome to see how this team came together from the beginning,” San Benito head coach Luis Espinoza said.
“Their goal was to make CCS. If we’re able to win league on top of that, then that would be icing on the cake.”
Just a one-game difference in the loss column between the two rival schools provided the backdrop to Tuesday’s showdown, while a share of the TCAL title was at stake for the Mustangs. But although both teams still have three league contests to play, San Benito’s slate against lesser opponents, coupled with its now two-game lead, might be too difficult for Gilroy to overcome at this point late in the season.
“We just wanted to beat them,” said Roy Powell, who led the ‘Balers with a team-high 12 kills. “We wanted to stay undefeated.”
Following two convincing set victories to open the match, San Benito and Gilroy began to exchange points in the third set, with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage.
And it was the ‘Balers that built that advantage on the back of Powell, who threw down five of his 12 kills in the third set, including a three-kill spree that supplied San Benito with a 17-14 edge.
“I just did my best,” Powell said. “I tried to help the team get back in it.”
But Gilroy had an answer. After San Benito increased its lead to 23-19, Mustang Samuel Howard, who was a beast at the net for Gilroy Tuesday, tried his touch from the service line and delivered two aces to knot the match at 24-all.
But perhaps needing just a single win in order to shift the momentum, Gilroy couldn’t quite keep pace late in the set when San Benito’s Erik Rodriguez pounded home a kill, then teamed up with Jakob Rice to stuff a hit back for the match-winning block.
“Losing wasn’t my biggest disappointment,” said senior setter Greg Calimpong. “My biggest disappointment was us not trying our best, not doing our best.
“If we tried our best and lost, I would have been fine with it. But now that we didn’t play our best, and they kind walked all over us, is kind of disappointing.”
In the first set, the ‘Balers took a 2-2 tie and built a 14-2 lead behind Powell’s jump serve and the net work of Adrian Rodriguez, who twice used a perfect loft shot that seemed to find its way to no-man’s land on Gilroy’s side of the court. Howard and Etay Haramaty each provided kills for Gilroy in the first set, but the Mustangs were unable to make up the sizeable difference.
The second set wasn’t much better for Gilroy either, as San Benito jumped out to a 13-0 lead before the Mustangs recorded a point.
“We pulled two starters and I was on the verge of pulling a third one,” said Martin when asked what the difference was in the competitive third set. “The guys that got put in were trying, hustling, playing volleyball … That’s all I was looking to get. I wasn’t at all [upset] at the starters. I just needed to find six players, seven with the libero, who wanted to play volleyball.”
Gilroy (9-2 TCAL, 17-5), which is all but assured a CCS bid, will continue on with its season Thursday when it hosts Watsonville at 7 p.m. San Benito (11-0 TCAL, 20-7), meanwhile, will look to remain undefeated when it visits Salinas Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s victory, though, may just be the lasting memory many of the ‘Balers take with them following this storybook season, including Jakob Rice, who was unable to compete in San Benito’s previous test at Monterey.
“This game meant everything to me,” said Rice, who was attending a funeral during San Benito’s 3-2 win over the Toreadors.
“This is what I played for. This is what I wanted.”
TEAM 1 2 3
GILR 11 7 24
SANB 25 25 26
