Anzar avenges earlier sweep to Santa Catalina; Hawks a solid 2nd
in MTAL after win
San Juan Bautista – After being swept on the road in its earlier match against Santa Catalina, the Anzar girls’ volleyball team was eager to return the favor Wednesday, blowing past the Cougars in the first two games. But despite their game efforts to climb out of a big hole in the third game, the Hawks couldn’t quite complete the sweep, seeing their furious rally fall just short.
Nevertheless, Anzar calmly rebounded to smoke Santa Catalina in the fourth game, solidifying its hold on second place in the Mission Trail Athletic League with the 25-20, 25-12, 21-25, 25-18 win.
“We knew we had an off game with them last time,” Hawks co-head coach Mike Dorney said of his team’s loss on Sep. 12. “We knew we could stay with them if we stayed patient.”
Anxious to make it a quick night, the Hawks (13-4) briefly lost their focus and spotted the Cougars an 8-0 lead to start the third game. But Anzar battled back, winning six straight points in the late going to pull within 21-20 after a great dig by Jaclyn Wiley led to an inadvertent kill by Christina Flores.
Looking to pull even at 22-all, Flores appeared to win the Hawks the point with a block kill on a long dig by Santa Catalina’s Bridget Slevin, but the referees ruled that Anzar’s middle had broken the plane of the net. Back-to-back aces by Ally Neiman saved the Cougars the game and the embarrassing blowout loss, but the Hawks made sure they didn’t let one lost game turn into a gigantic letdown.
Two left-handed kills in a row by senior Jessica Staley gave Anzar a 16-12 lead in the fourth game, and then behind three late Flores kills, the Hawks rolled off the last six points to wrap up their sixth straight win.
“Crazy energy,” setter Danielle Bossler said of Anzar’s fourth-game strategy. “We knew we had it. We just said pick up the energy, do what we can and don’t let anything hit the floor.”
On that last note, the Hawks excelled all match long. Senior Emily Deleissegues paced the effort with 40 digs, but she had plenty of help from her sister, Erin, and Wiley.
“We were really aggressive on defense,” said Wiley, who contributed eight digs and led the Hawks with 19 service points.
Added Dorney: “We put everything they put down back up to take advantage of it. We kept the ball alive. Very good defense.”
Santa Catalina (7-5, 6-4 MTAL) threatened in the first game, pulling within 21-20, but two misfires by the Cougars and a decisive kill by Emily Deleissegues put the game out of reach.
A 10-2 run early in the second game gave Anzar a commanding lead, and just as they would in the final game, the Hawks won the last six points.
“Anzar did a great job,” Santa Catalina head coach Mark Zalin said. “We got off to a slow start and you can’t do that against a good team.”
Flores led Anzar with 15 kills, and Emily Deleissegues had 12 kills and four aces. Staley added eight kills and three blocks, and Erin Deleissegues posted 11 kills and four aces. Senior Heather McGowan helped her team pull away in the fourth game with a pair of strong kills to the back-right corner.
The victory was the Hawks’ fourth in eight days, a run that has left them behind only undefeated King City at in MTAL matches. Pacific Grove (6-3 MTAL) is the closest challenger to the second-place finish that will guarantee Anzar a Central Coast Section Division V playoff berth.
“We’re pretty much planning to hold on to second place,” Wiley said. “That’s our main goal right now.”
Anzar continues that pursuit when it travels to Gonzales on Tuesday.
