Against Lincoln, they nearly pull off their second league win
after falling behind two games to none
MORGAN HILL — Sitting in awkward silence, the Bulldogs faithful *– all 10 or so — treated the first two of games of Tuesday’s Santa Teresa Division volleyball match like a movie they had mistakenly walked in on.
It turned out to be a good one. By Game 4, there were some cheers and foot stomps coming from the back row of the Sobrato High School Main Gym as the Bulldogs roared back from a two-games-to-none deficit to nearly force a decisive fifth set against Lincoln.
But there was no Hollywood ending, at least not for SHS. Instead, the Lions — a program in its first season of league play in almost a decade — rose as the more consistent team to win 25-18, 25-21, 17-25, 26-24.
Despite their record, this one hurt the Bulldogs (1-10 overall, 1-4 league). They led in each set, clearly looked like the better team in Game 3 and had everything working for them early in Game 4 when they built an 18-7 lead.
Call it a strong finish that took too long to get started.
“It usually takes us a game to get things going. This time, it took two,” junior hitter Nathanael Wrye said. “I thought our passing was really good towards the end. Things were just clicking. This loss definitely hurts because we felt like we had them.”
To SHS coach Todd Anderson, that confidence came with a price.
“They have this tendency to get ahead and think they’ve won. It’s kind of ironic,” he said. “They’ve got all the skills going. They just have to make up their mind if they want to play hard every point — not just at the end or against good teams.”
The Bulldogs scored the first four points of Game 1 and led by as many as six before Lincoln stormed away.
In the second set, the Lions jumped ahead early behind four of Marco De La Cruz’s game-high 10 kills. Trailing 17-11, Sobrato began to fight back as setter Ethan Lines dialed in with hitter Estevan Santiago. The two juniors connected for three kills down the stretch with Lines adding an ace to put the Bulldogs ahead 19-18. Lincoln resumed command for good, though, when Jorge Escobar fed De La Cruz for a kill to win an 11-hit rally, breaking a 21-21 tie.
Santiago finished with nine digs and seven kills, and Lines collected 13 assists and five kills. Freshman teammate Scott Mercado hauled in seven digs and two blocks.
“Ethan really got things going with his sets,” Anderson said.
Sobrato’s defense picked up in Game 3, leading to longer rallies and more hitting mistakes by Lincoln. Sergio Mihai, Mercado and Santiago provided multiple blocks, and the Bulldogs frustrated Lincoln’s frontline with their improv-like plays and tips. They made several diving bumps and backhanded digs.
“The good thing about being raw is, the other team doesn’t know what to expect,” said Anderson, now in his first year at SHS. “We’re trying to mix things up, so it’s not the same plays over and over.”
Miscues helped dig the Lions an 11-point deficit in Game 4, but they rallied behind 6-foot-3 middle blocker Tyler Hasse, who totaled six of his seven blocks during the set. Once Lincoln took away spiking lanes, the Bulldogs lost control.
“We were trying to go around their big guy,” said Mihai, who had six blocks and five kills. “We kept hitting, but they were making stops.”
Lincoln (2-10, 2-3) went on a 17-6 scoring run to tie it, 24-all, and took the lead when Sobrato was called for a double hit. Antonio Reyes, who finished with 11 digs, scored an ace to clinch the win.
If there was a positive to take away from the loss, the Bulldogs found another team they can beat in the second round of league play.
“I think we have enough to beat them and a couple others, too,” Anderson said. “We’re playing with a lot of heart and improvement. We just can’t do it consistently.”
