Hollister off to a scorching start to the 2005 season with a 7-0
record
San Benito High girls’ volleyball coach Dean Askanas has to be liking what he sees in the early stages of his first year with the Haybaler program.
Only two days removed from taking first place in the Santa Cruz Varsity Tournament, the ‘Balers put together a dominating performance in front of their home crowd to defeat the visiting Harbor Pirates in straight games Tuesday night, 25-22, 25-22 and 25-22.
“This team has been just a pleasure to work with so far,” said Askanas after Tuesday night’s victory. “And I think that we’re all on the same page as far as what we want to achieve this year.”
What the team wants to achieve this year is a Central Coast Section championship. And, given the way the team played in its home opener, a section title may very well be within the realm of possibility for the Hollister group.
Tuesday night’s match was highlighted by outstanding plays from just about every member of the team. J.T. Temperino, who tallied more kills than anyone in the Santa Cruz Tournament, led the team with 14 kills, including a couple of clutch scores that silenced Harbor rallies.
Emily Kortsen also had a big game at the net for San Benito as her powerful kills were wreaking havoc on the Pirates’ back line all night.
And then there were the stellar defensive plays from the likes of Bri Romero, whose digs kept the ‘Balers going in more than a couple of crucial points. At one point in the second game, with the Haybaler lead down to two at 19-17, Romero ended up going head first into the bleachers on a sliding attempt to get to a ball that was traveling out of bounds.
The Pirates stayed close to the Haybalers in each of the three games, as the 25-22 scores indicate. But, when it came down to extending the lead once the scores pushed past the 20 mark, the ‘Balers were able to answer and close games out.
Harbor seemed to have the momentum late in the third game as they chipped the Haybaler lead down to two at 23-21, forcing Askanas to call a timeout.
But when the ‘Balers got back out onto the court following the break, it was evident from their play that whatever their coach told them in the huddle had hit home. A brutal cross-court kill from Romero brought up game point before the ‘Baler defense frustrated Harbor into making a mistake on the final play of the contest.
“We have to improve in every facet of our game,” Askanas said. “We’ve set very high goals for ourselves and we have to improve all around. Our blocking, our hitting, our service game and our return, But, the nice thing is, we know that it’s do-able. There’s no team out there that is unbeatable. As long as we can constantly improve, constantly get better in every facet of the game, we’ll be alright.”
