San Benito defeats visiting Chieftains in three games, seek to
win-out for chance of an at-large bid
Hollister
The San Benito boys volleyball team did what they needed to do Thursday night, defeating visiting Palma in three games and keeping pace with the third-place Gilroy Mustangs in the Tri-County Athletic League.
The Haybalers took care of the Chieftains 25-14, 25-9, 25-16, and are sitting one spot behind Gilroy with a 7-5 record. The Mustangs are 8-4 after defeating Watsonville Thursday.
With Seaside and Monterey already icing the top two spots in the TCAL, as well as the two automatic bids toward the postseason, the ‘Balers and Mustangs will be in a shoving match during the last two matches of the season, as each squad looks to better their appearance for a possible at-large berth.
The best case scenario for San Benito is to win-out against Salinas and Monterey, and have Gilroy lose one of their remaining two matches. That series of events would place the ‘Balers into a third-place tie with Gilroy, and make them more attractive for an at-large bid.
“If we beat Salinas and Monterey, then we still have a chance to make a bid for the at-large,” coach Luis Espinoza said.
On Thursday, which was the Homecoming match for San Benito, Adrian Rodriguez and Javier Castaneda led the ‘Balers with 20 and 10 assists, respectively, and dished off the ball to Roy Powell (nine kills), Brian Hawks (eight), Elijah Pollard (seven) and Luis Bradley (six).
“It was one of those times where the guys came in and played hard and did what they had to do,” Espinoza said. “They wanted to have a good Homecoming.”
David De La Cruz and Michael Gonzales contributed 18 and 13 digs, respectively, while De La Cruz provided five service aces for San Benito.
The win makes it three in a row for the ‘Balers, which will host Salinas Tuesday.
That match will be the final home match of the season, and will mark Senior Night for De La Cruz and Pollard.
Match time is 6:30 p.m.
