Volleyball team gets bye, chance to scout competition
Since 1999, every team that has been seeded No. 1 in any of the
CCS’s five divisions has come away with a section championship.
This year the Hawks are the No.1-ranked team in Division V and
seem to be destined for a storybook finish.
Volleyball team gets bye, chance to scout competition
Since 1999, every team that has been seeded No. 1 in any of the CCS’s five divisions has come away with a section championship.
This year the Hawks are the No.1-ranked team in Division V and seem to be destined for a storybook finish.
Talk about heavy expectations. It is a burden the Anzar Hawks, however, are happy to shoulder.
Saturday marks the beginning of the 2002 CCS playoffs and, unlike last season, when the Redwood Christian ousted the Hawks in the first round in five games, Anzar has the luxury of a first round bye.
Anzar will get a chance to scout the two teams, the No. 5 seed Redwood Christian and the No. 3 seeded Liberty Baptist High School, which play at Milpitas High School for the opportunity to meet the Hawks.
The winner of the Redwood-Liberty game will play the Hawks at Mitty High School next Thursday at 6 p.m.
“That’s a huge advantage,” said Hawks assistant coach Michael Dorney. “That’s something we didn’t have last year.”
The club will also have five days to prepare for whoever comes out of the first-round bracket. The break in action gives the Hawks ample time to rest nagging injuries, pore over the opposition’s strategy and to perfect their offensive and defensive sets.
Add that to the 10 days of inactivity since its four-set victory over Pacific Grove on Nov. 6 and that could equal trouble.
The long layoff could lead to a rusty club come next Thursday. No matter how much practice time is put in on the floor, nothing can compensate for live game action.
This Hawks team, which set a team record for wins, blocks and assists in the Mission Trail Athletic League, is the best the school has seen in its short history. No way will the Hawks let a week-and-a-half of idleness hinder its progress.
“We have a pretty good workout scheduled,” said Dorney.
During a recent practice, the women looked ready. Outside hitter Kiely White, who set a school record for kills with 30 against the King City Mustangs two weeks ago, soared through the air. Anzar setter Gina Raye, the owner of the Hawks’ single-game assist record with 45, looked spry as she darted back and forth in front of the net. She set her record against Pacific Grove on October 9.
Treva Crocker, another record holder, was maintaining on defense. During the Hawks final regular season game, Crocker blocked six shots to set the school single-season record at 96. Ray also had 41 assists in that contest.
The Hawks, who finished the season 23-11 overall and third in the MTAL with an 11-5 record, seemed loose, confident and anxious to get things going.
If the Hawks had its druthers, Redwood Christian will be lined up on the other side of the net Thursday night.
The Hawks would love to defeat the team that sent them home early last year.
