Fans of San Benito High girls volleyball will just have to be
patient to see their favorite team play at home. The scheduled home
match with Mt. Pleasant for this Wednesday has been changed to the
floor of the Cardinals due to a school function in Mattson Gym the
same night.
”
I have to plead ignorance to scheduling,
”
said Baler head coach Chuck Schallhorn.
”
I went through this with little guidance. I told the team last
week about the change because I wanted the word out. I didn’t want
people showing up here for a match on Wednesday.
”
Fans of San Benito High girls volleyball will just have to be patient to see their favorite team play at home. The scheduled home match with Mt. Pleasant for this Wednesday has been changed to the floor of the Cardinals due to a school function in Mattson Gym the same night.
“I have to plead ignorance to scheduling,” said Baler head coach Chuck Schallhorn. “I went through this with little guidance. I told the team last week about the change because I wanted the word out. I didn’t want people showing up here for a match on Wednesday.”
The Balers, 4-4 on the season, won’t play their first home match until Oct. 2, which is the second Tri-County Athletic League match on the schedule. Gilroy is the opponent.
Schallhorn said Branham is the best team his club has faced this season. The main problem the Balers have had this year is putting the ball down.
“We’ve had problem with our attack,” said Schallhorn. “We need to be more aggressive. We’re getting the first spike over, but the other teams are picking it up. The sets are mostly good, but the outside
hitters have to do a better job of adjusting when the sets aren’t perfect.”
“We can do better,” said senior outside hitter Melissa Moore. “We have to get used to our rotation. We have some sophomores playing who are inexperienced.”
Moore is one of three seniors on the Baler team. Schallhorn appointed each one of them captains, with Amy Baxter and Mallorie Wilson joining Moore in that distinguished honor.
“We just need to play together,” said Baxter. “All positions on this team are solid. We need to have everyone to have a good day, not just one or two.”
“This team has potential to dominate,” said Wilson. “We have great players. We’re a young team and we need to go to basic fundamentals. We lost some close matches in Reno. Those are the most frustrating. We could have beaten Branham, too.”
Schallhorn kept three sophomores on the team – Ashley Patton, Amanda Boyd and Jamie Temperino. It was a hard decision for Schallhorn, who chose to cut some good junior athletes instead.
“I like to keep sophomores, even though they’re playing just a little,” said Schallhorn. “The experience of being on the varsity will pay dividends down the line. I have to project what an athlete will bring to the team a year, or even two years from now.”
The Balers began the season ranked 10th in the Central Coast Section, but they were recently dropped from the top 15.
“We were ranked by reputation,” said Schallhorn. “Our girls don’t expect to be ranked right now. But they do expect to be ranked by the end of the year.”
All teams play by the new rally scoring system, meaning every play counts as a point. There are no sideouts.
“It puts more pressure on serves and takes away the jump serve,” said Baxter. “It’s good and bad. The games are quicker. Teams have to be more consistent.”
The Balers are at the Westmont-Saratoga Tournament this Saturday.
