In an effort to instill a sense of urgency in his team, Sobrato
girls volleyball coach Jason Medenceles often holds games to five
at practice with
”
special incentives
”
at stake.
”
If both teams were tied at 20, who’s going to be the first one
with five points?
”
Medenceles said.
”
I try to put them in a sense of urgency right away, and have
them try that experience.
”
For the Bulldogs,
”
playing to five
”
assumed several different meanings in Tuesday’s Santa Teresa
Division opener against visiting Prospect. For one it summed up an
inspired SHS rally from two games down to dead even, forcing a
decisive fifth game the locals had three chances to win before
losing 21-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 14-16
MORGAN HILL
In an effort to instill a sense of urgency in his team, Sobrato girls volleyball coach Jason Medenceles often holds games to five at practice with “special incentives” at stake.
“If both teams were tied at 20, who’s going to be the first one with five points?” Medenceles said. “I try to put them in a sense of urgency right away, and have them try that experience.”
For the Bulldogs, “playing to five” assumed several different meanings in Tuesday’s Santa Teresa Division opener against visiting Prospect. For one it summed up an inspired SHS rally from two games down to dead even, forcing a decisive fifth game the locals had three chances to win before losing 21-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 14-16.
By playing to five, the Bulldogs also played to the expectations of their No. 5, Emily Kyle. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter, who had 12 kills in Friday’s win over Santa Clara and has been called the team’s “most complete player” by Medenceles, left the game early after suffering a deep cut above her right eye while diving for a ball in Game 2. Kyle collided head first into the bottom bleacher and was tended to while laying on the floor for 10 minutes until paramedics arrived. The cut required four stitches, Medenceles said Wednesday.
With their thoughts on Kyle, the Bulldogs lost the second game handily and were heading toward being swept in Game 3, down 12-7. That’s when they started playing for five.
“We just needed to pick it up and keep going,” Sobrato’s Casey Hendricks said. “Emily’s such a good player. We just had to push for her. Seeing her get hurt’s hard, but we know she’ll come back. She’s strong.”
The Bulldogs (4-5, 0-1) came alive to score 18 of the final 25 points in Game 3, including a momentum-shifting 9-4 scoring run that gave them the lead for good at 16-15. Sobrato received two kills by Jessica Westall, Kelsey Hernandez and Hendricks, a big stuff block by Rebekah Inouye and four assists, two kills and an ace by setter Miranda Werts.
“We all pulled together and tried our best,” said Werts, who led her team with 16 assists, eight aces, eight digs and five kills. “We reminded ourselves Emily would have wanted us to get back on it, and she would have wanted us to keep trying.”
Westall celebrated her 18th birthday with eight kills and eight digs, while Hendricks totaled six kills, three aces and three digs. Hernandez and Devyn Gunsky chipped in 11 digs apiece.
Sobrato, which had hit poorly and played cautiously early on, looked like a different team in Game 4, with the SHS backline picking up Prospect’s spikes, and Werts spreading the ball to all of her hitters. The sophomore ended the game with seven assists and four aces.
“She’s a really strong player,” Hendricks said. “She’s been really good for us.”
Inouye hammered five of her six kills in the fourth game, including a deafening spike to end it.
By the start of Game 5 the once-timid Bulldogs were hopping, cheering and woofing with each other.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Gunsky said. “I’m proud of us even though we lost. The way that we came back as a team; in the beginning we weren’t getting along well, but we came together.”
Sobrato raced to a 12-6 lead in Game 5 and was practically unopposed by Prospect, which started the night well only to struggle with simple passing, hitting and serving by the end.
Ali Werner had nine kills, and Angelina Boursalian provided 13 assists, eight digs and four aces for the Panthers (3-8, 1-0).
“Not making errors was really everything,” Prospect coach Rod Carlson said. “We just had to figure out how to keep the ball in play somehow.”
The Panthers found their touch just in time. They tied the game, 14-all, with an impressive 8-2 run that included three crucial stops with the Bulldogs at game point, then scored six straight to win it.
Medenceles took the heart-breaking loss as a valuable learning experience for his club.
“I’m actually really proud, especially for what we experienced with the event with Emily,” he said. “I’m glad that they experienced that type of adversity, where they’re put in a tough situation, and they have to dig emotionally.
“I’m glad I was able to see so many different players take different responsibilities.”
NOTE: The Bulldogs continue league play at 6 p.m. Thursday Del Mar and will face several of the county’s top teams Saturday in the Los Gatos Tournament.
- The Live Oak Acorns opened their Mount Hamilton Division-title defense Tuesday with a hard-fought home win over Evergreen Valley, 23-25, 29-27, 25-15, 25-21.
Fa Saulala led the Acorns with 16 kills, two blocks, an ace and 42 digs, Katie Obbema added eight kills, six blocks and two aces, and Alli Unger had 53 digs to go with five aces, also for Live Oak (2-2, 1-0).
The Acorns host Silver Creek in league play at 6 p.m. Thursday and will play in the Menlo-Atherton Tournament on Saturday.
