‘Balers miss chance to clinch VB championship with loss to
Salinas; shared title likely after San Benito sees 22-match TCAL
win streak snapped There was a celebration on the court after the
San Benito
–Salinas girls’ volleyball grudge match all right. But it wasn’t
the Lady ‘Balers and their fans that were whooping and
hollering.
Hollister – There was a celebration on the court after the San Benito–Salinas girls’ volleyball grudge match all right. But it wasn’t the Lady ‘Balers and their fans that were whooping and hollering.
After doing what no Tri-County Athletic League opponent had done for nearly two years – defeating the ‘Balers – the Cowboys joyfully ran onto the court as if they had won the championship. And for Salinas, which has sanctions that prevent any Central Coast Section playoff participation, Thursday’s 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16 win was as significant as a postseason victory.
The ‘Balers, on the other hand, could only shake their heads after being systematically overpowered by an extremely motivated opponent. San Benito (27-7, 10-1 TCAL) entered the contest with the opportunity to clinch the TCAL championship outright with a victory, but now face the likely prospect of a shared title with the rival Cowboys (21-5, 9-1 TCAL).
“I give all the credit in the world to Salinas,” said ‘Balers coach Dean Askanas, who highlighted the surprisingly one-sided first game as decisive. “They were letting us have it right there. They came out hot. I was really impressed with their defense. I thought that was their weakness last time.”
Slamming down kills with ease in the teams’ Oct. 3 meeting, the ‘Balers rolled to a three-game victory that laid the groundwork for a second consecutive TCAL championship. But in Thursday’s rematch, the Cowboys dug many more of those balls, which led to a frustrating night for the San Benito hitters.
“They got everything up,” ‘Balers opposite Emily Kortsen said. “They had really good defense. They had the pressure on us, so it was hard for us to swing away, knowing they were there.”
Salinas head coach Josh Gentle said “the difference was we took care of serve and serve-receive. We took care of the ball and made some great digs.”
After recovering from the shock of losing the first game – the first they lost all year in a TCAL match – the ‘Balers rebounded in a scintillating second game. With two powerful offenses and resourceful defenses going head-to-head, the fans were treated to a vintage battle, a game that featured 13 ties and nine lead changes. After calling a timeout trailing 19-17, San Benito roared back to eventually take the game on back-to-back kills by Bri Romero and Kortsen.
But the Cowboys continued to move their offense away from Kortsen, setting middle Tori Vaughn for a number of point-blank kills. Salinas star Fabiola Castro got her hands on plenty of ‘Baler kill attempts, too, keeping the Cowboys in points and allowing the offense to re-set and then deliver.
San Benito overcame a 15-9 deficit in the third game to pull even at 22-all, but a left-handed kill by Salinas’ Sarah Taylor down the middle and a faulty ‘Baler serve-receive ruined the comeback bid.
The ‘Balers found themselves playing behind again early in the fourth game and pulled within one point at 16-15, but the confident Cowboys pulled away with a handful of kills to open space.
Said Kortsen: “They out-played us. Tonight, at least.”
San Benito libero Samantha Klauer said being forced to overcome large deficits in the games her team lost was a real challenge. “That was tough,” she said. “Coming back was what we needed to do to show we’re a mature team. We ended up coming back a couple of times, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Kortsen posted a match-high 21 kills, and junior Ali Sharp enjoyed a strong night with six blocks and two aces. Romero contributed eight kills for the ‘Balers, and senior Morgan O’Laughlin added seven kills.
Castro led the Cowboys with 19 kills and nine digs, while setter Tricia Iglesia distributed the ball well with 28 assists. Libero Shelby Goldman had 24 digs, and Vaughn registered nine kills and six blocks.
With matches against Gilroy and Alvarez remaining, Salinas can clinch at least a share of the league championship if it wins out. For Gentle and his players, that continues to be their motivation.
“This basically was our CCS tonight,” Gentle said, “and that’s how we had to approach it. The only thing we could fight for was that TCAL title.”
Meanwhile, after seeing their 22-match league winning streak stopped, the ‘Balers know they need a win Monday against Notre Dame to forge a shared championship and head into the playoffs on a high note.
“We have bigger fish to fry,” Askanas said after the loss. “We have to put it behind us and focus on our main goals which are CCS and NorCals. We can’t dwell on it too long. You have to focus on the next thing, which is beating Notre Dame–Salinas to get at least a piece of the title and then moving on to playoffs.”
