Tag: volleyball

The San Benito High girls volleyball team is about to enter its toughest stretch of the season. The Haybalers, who swept visiting Monte Vista Christian on Thursday—game scores were 25-13, 25-22, 25-21—lost standouts in outside hitter Marisa Villegas and libero Noel Chavarria after the two collided heads going for a pass midway through Game 2 against MVC.

Anzar High volleyball coach Tom Schatz was put in an unenviable position as his team prepared to play in the Alvarez Tournament on Oct. 10. With most of his seniors attending a college preview day at Cal State University Monterey Bay, Schatz had to call up three freshmen from the junior varsity team to field a full roster and have a couple of reserve players available to play.

Playing with energy and passion, the San Benito High girls volleyball team earned arguably its biggest victory of the season on Thursday, knocking off Notre Dame-Salinas in four sets. Game scores were 24-26, 27-25, 28-26, 26-24.

High tempo, high octane, fast and furious. That’s the way the San Benito High girls volleyball team has played this season, and the frenetic pace has left most of the Haybalers opponents gasping to catch their breath.

Over the summer, Kevin Kramer received an early Christmas gift—two of them actually. In a span of two months, the Gavilan College women’s volleyball coach learned one of his top players from last year—outside hitter Samantha Nydam—would be returning for her sophomore year at Gavilan.

Things have come full circle for the Anzar High volleyball team. After struggling for the last two years, the Hawks have showed the 2015 season is going to be a different story. Anzar improved to 4-1 after a five-game win over host North Salinas on Sept. 17.

At 12-3, the San Benito High girls volleyball team is off to its best start since the 2007 season. That year the Haybalers won the Tri-County League championship, advanced to the Central Coast Section Division I final and won their opening match in the CIF Northern California playoffs.

For the San Benito High girls volleyball team, the future is now. The Haybalers return all but one starter from last year’s team, they have a dynamic new coach in Ruth Testman and enough talent to compete with most of the best teams in the Central Coast Section.

GILROY—The camaraderie in the Gavilan College gym Tuesday was undeniable. After each drill, the Rams volleyball players huddled together to acknowledge each other's accomplishments, always ending with a “Go Rams” chant before breaking. That, head coach Kevin Kramer said, is what an entire summer of bonding does for a team.

At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, San Benito High senior Gabe Ventura went through the usual growing pains that come with being taller than everyone else.