San Benito coach faces former school with title game berth on
the line
Hollister – Never mind his seven years as coach at Mount Pleasant, Dean Askanas is a Haybaler.
“I’m embedded in this program,” he said.
Askanas coached many of the players currently on the Mount Pleasant roster at Quimby Oak Middle School, so there will be a definite familiarity with the players when the San Benito girls volleyball team faces the Cardinals in their Central Coast Section Division I semifinal match at Santa Clara High at 7:30pm.
But when it’s time for he and his team to step onto the court, there won’t be any mixed feelings.
“When it’s time to compete, you don’t look at the head anymore,” Askanas said. “You just focus on them as the opposition.”
The Cardinals are the only thing in the way of the ‘Balers returning to the CCS title game, likely in a rematch against Carlmont, which beat San Benito in last year’s championship.
The ‘Balers are anxious to get to that game and achieve their goal of winning the first CCS volleyball title in school history. They’re also feeling pretty confident about their chances to get to Saturday’s championship game.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better draw,” Askanas said. “We respect every team, but we don’t fear any team.”
If the rematch with Carlmont does pan out, the ‘Balers know they’ll be in for a fight to prevent the Scots from repeating as section champs.
“It’ll be intense,” said Askanas, whose team beat Carlmont in five games in a early season meeting this year. “The teams just match up well. It’s going to be a big battle.”
San Benito lost its second-to-last game of the Tri-County Athletic League season, which forced the ‘Balers to settle for only a share of the league title. The hope was that defeat might serve as a wake up call. Saturday’s quarterfinal win against Andrew Hill was impressive, but Askanas said it was too early to say if the loss had any positive effect.
“I couldn’t make a judgement call yet,” he said. “A lot of questions remain to be answered.”
By Saturday, Askanas and the ‘Balers should have those answers.
