Bulldogs finish perfect first round in BVAL with sweep
Morgan Hill – Halfway through the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division schedule, the Sobrato High girls volleyball team is sitting pretty with a perfect 7-0 record.
The Bulldogs made sure they stayed unbeaten by coasting past San Jose High Academy in a three-game sweep at Live Oak on Tuesday.
Sobrato, which suffered through a 1-14 campaign last season while playing in the Tri-County Athletic League, is slowly winding the clock down on a potential BVAL title. The Bulldogs (10-6 overall) hold a two-game lead over both Del Mar and Oak Grove with seven games to play.
“This year is fun. It’s a lot more fun to win obviously,” said Jordyn Hanne, the team’s lone senior. “The team chemistry when you’re on a run like this is much better and everyone’s just happy on the court.”
The second half of the season began Thursday night with road game against Pioneer (the results were not available at presstime) and coach Rosemary Miller planned to make sure her team knew it has to stay on track over the final three weeks of the regular season.
“Everybody gets better in the second round so we’ve got to stay focused,” Miller said. “I told them we have to stay focused because they are going to come out to get us.”
Hanne, one of the team’s captains, echoed similar statements.
“I think that we have confidence in each other but we still are humble about it. We know we have to fight this next round,” Hanne said. “I think everyone’s going to be out to get us this next round because whenever there’s someone on top, everyone’s ready to take them down. So we have to be aware of that and play our best.”
Sobrato had no problems taking care of San Jose. After a 25-14 win in the first game, Sobrato scored the first 13 points of the second game in an easy 25-3 win.
The third game went the same way. After San Jose tied it at 2-2, Sobrato scored 10 straight points to make it 12-2. San Jose responded with three points in a row, but Sobrato knocked home the final 13 points of the game in succession to win the match.
Freshman Kelsey Westall led Sobrato with 10 kills and said the team hasn’t been surprised at all by their success.
“It’s just a matter of working together as a team and that’s all it really takes for us,” Westall said.
The coaching staff has been confident in the team’s abilities all year long, and Westall said that has helped instill confidence in the team.
“I think it’s helped a lot because it’s helped to know that we can do it and other people believe in us,” she said.
The next three games figure to be the toughest for Sobrato as it will face Gunderson, Del Mar and Oak Grove. The Bulldogs gutted out four-game wins over Gunderson and Del Mar and swept Oak Grove, but expect those teams to fight hard the second time around and know the team needs to stay grounded.
“Our coach really helps us with that,” Hanne said. “She doesn’t lift us up. She knows we still have to work hard.”
