Hollister boys volleyball concludes another strong season

It’s been another solid season for the Hollister boys volleyball team. This year’s squad fought through injuries and ups and downs to put together a strong campaign. 

The Balers have ended the regular season at 18-16 overall, and 4-6 in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division. Hollister was again competitive in the highest PCAL division and in non-league matches.

“It’s been a good season,” coach Adrian Masoni said. “We’ve been battling injuries this year. We have a great group of seniors. One of our standouts has of course been Henry (Schwarzwaelder). Our setter Abraham (Corona) has been our rock on offense. We’ve been lucky to have him. On defense, Nico (Haro) has really been a revelation. He gets to everything. What he’s doing as a junior is remarkable.”

Corona sets a fierce group of hitters in Schwarzwaelder, Rony Salas Ramirez and opposite Diego Martinez Ruiz. 

Co-captain Schwarzwaelder has totaled an amazing 1,086 kills over three years, with an impressive attack percentage of .339. He has added 95 blocks and 142 aces. On the court, he contributes offensively and defensively and his broad repertoire includes blasts, roll shots, tips and placement. 

Martinez Ruiz has been a major contributor for two years and has totaled 313 kills and 30 blocks, while serving 39 aces. Salas Ramirez racked up 211 kills this year as a junior.

Co-captain Corona has run the offense superbly, delivering 889 assists and serving 73 aces. Gabe Arredondo and Marcos Matus also contributed at server this season. 

Other major contributions came from Gio Stotler, Calvin Ong and Gianni Mortela in the middle, Blake Maddox and Angel Soto all over the court and Kevin De La Cruz at opposite.

This year’s record is nearly identical to the marks put up the last two years, resulting in a cumulative ledger of 61-43 overall, 19-15 in league play. Over that span, Monterey has taken the league crown twice and finished second once, with Carmel grabbing the title in 2023 and claiming second the other two seasons. 

After that pair, Hollister and Salinas have had the third-best seasons, with everyone else further back.

The Balers started off the 2024-25 campaign strong with victories over North Salinas twice, Everett Alvarez twice, Christopher, Salinas, Anzar, Scotts Valley three times, Pacific Collegiate, York and Palma. A rough patch coincided with injuries and the overall record suffered. More recently, Hollister picked up league wins against Carmel, Salinas and Seaside.

The Carmel victory on April 1 was likely the highlight of the year. Beating the powerful Padres was even more impressive when one notes that Schwarzwaelder was out with an injury. The Balers prevailed 19-25, 25-18, 25-27, 28-26, 15-13. Salas Ramirez ripped 16 kills and Martinez Ruiz added 11. Corona set 21 assists, Marcos Matus served four aces and Haro had 11 digs.

“The playoffs are off the table,” Masoni said. “It’s a really stacked league. It’s cut-throat.”

The April 30 contest at Christopher illustrated both the Balers’ struggles and their fortitude, resilience and strength. The match, postponed from earlier in the season due to gym availability, began with the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa Division league-leading Cougars on a roll. Christopher is 21-9 this year and headed to the Central Coast Section playoffs. 

The Balers were missing Martinez Ruiz and Ong, but De La Cruz and Maddux stepped up.

Behind powerful hitter Diego Rodriguez, setter Sam Bravo, libero Nolan Smith and a deep group that was strong in front and back, Christopher built early leads in the first two sets and won comfortably via the score of 25-16 both times.

“The first two sets, everything was not there,” Hollister’s Corona said. “After that, everyone played more scrappy and we were better on defense. That allowed us to run more offense. We were able to play fun and with energy.”

The third set was knotted at 22 when Salas Ramirez smashed a winner through the block and followed with a score via a tip. De La Cruz ripped a cross for the final point and a 25-23 win.

“We were not going to go down without a fight,” Corona said. “We always try to play our best.”

Hollister showed even more mettle in the fourth set. They trailed by a few points most of the set but rallied back late to stun the Cougars. At 22-22, Salas Ramirez scored with a shot down the line, Schwarzwaelder crushed a ball through the seam and then closed the set 25-23 with a ball that tipped the net and went over, handcuffing the Cougars.

“We fought back and as a coach, you can be proud of that,” Masoni said. “Some things can’t be measured. I think the main thing is that we took a more aggressive approach. We put pressure on Christopher. We got more touches on the block and played better defense. It says something about our team character.”

In the fifth set, the Cougars regained their mojo. They improved their defense and avoided hitting errors. Christopher scored the first five points and fended off Baler rallies that could not dent the deficit. Schwarzwaelder ripped three kills but the Cougars prevailed 15-10.

“It was a tough one,” Christopher coach Lee Guerrero said. “They (Hollister) hustled. They never gave up. We want to be that kind of team. In the fifth set, our passing got better. Because of that, we were able to run our offense better.”

In the season finale a week later on May 6, the Balers smacked Seaside in four sets. Schwarzwaelder ripped 22 kills and served four aces. Martinez Ruiz belted 21 kills and had 14 digs.

“The season overall was really nice,” Corona said. “We lost a couple but we were having fun playing together.”