Sobrato boys volleyball forges ahead in competitive league

The Sobrato boys volleyball team is competing in a deep and even league, with nine similar teams and minimal separation. The Bulldogs are in the middle, with a 3-4 mark in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa Division and are 6-7 overall. 

Christopher and Santa Teresa lead the pack, with Westmont and Pioneer close. Sobrato and Prospect are right behind. Silver Creek, Hill and Oak Grove trail the pack. A close look shows that even the top teams are not extremely better than the lower squads, and any night’s game will be a battle.

The Bulldogs’ attack is run by talented setter Keith Tran, a fluid junior. His offensive options on the outside include all-around star Steven Brozic, Nathaniel Pang, Alexandr Kushchanka, Sebastian Nazario and sophomore Chad Brown. 

Setting to the middle hitters, tall Yuvraj Sandhu and athletic Dylan Low, is a great weapon. The defense is led by freshman Lucas Foggiato and Mateo Moreno.

The focus now is on the competitive BVAL play, but the team will never forget the season opener on Feb. 25 against local rival Live Oak. In a back-and-forth battle royale, the two El Toro squads went at it in the Acorns’ gym. 

After dropping the first set 25-21, Sobrato rallied to take the next two sets, 25-16 and 25-16 again. But Live Oak rebounded to win the fourth 25-22. The decisive final set went to overtime with the Bulldogs victorious by an 18-16 count.

Pre-season competition also included two tournament wins over San Lorenzo Valley. Brozic referenced the 2-1 tournament loss to a strong Westmont team.

“We played really well against Westmont,” Brozic said. “They seem to be at the top of their league. We have that as our standard.”

League play commenced with a loss to top dog Christopher in four sets, but Sobrato swept Silver Creek on March 11. Prospect fought off the Bulldogs in four sets on March 13 and Santa Teresa smacked them in three but Sobrato got back on the winning end by fighting off pesky Oak Grove on the road on March 20 by scores of 26-24, 21-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-9. Sobrato then swept Hill.

In the Prospect match at home, the Bulldogs showed spurts of excellence, a view into future potential and a tendency to fight hard and be resilient. In the first set, Sobrato used a mid-set seven-point run to establish control and run away to a 25-14 win. 

During the charge, Brozic served an ace, Sandhu hammered down a kill in the middle and the Bulldogs held tight on defense as the Panthers made hitting errors.

Prospect found their way in the second set. According to assistant coach Alex Yee, running the team in the brief absence of head coach Daniel Clifton, the visitors came back with more aggression. They switched to a 6-2 and improved their defense, enabling them to run a stronger attack, focused mostly on the Panthers’ big hitter Liam Chesser.

Prospect rolled 25-18 in the second set and outfought Sobrato in a competitive third set to pull ahead in the contest. In that crucial third set, they used a 10-1 run to turn the tables.

Sobrato came back hard in the fourth set. Behind Low, Sandhu and Brozic, they built a 15-11 lead. Chesser and crew evened it up. In the final stretch, Sobrato fought off three match points but fell 29-27.

“We did great in the first set,” Tran said. “We were confident but we kinda played down to their level. We could’ve done better.”

In a fairly even league, such ups and downs in any given match are not uncommon. Brozic is stellar when in the back row. When Foggiato is sharp, the defense allows Tran to run a varied attack. The outside hitters are reliable and the middles generally face only a single block at most and have been hitting for a high percentage.

“I think they worked really hard tonight,” said Yee, after the Prospect match. “The whole group has a lot of potential. Steven (Brozic) gives us great leadership. He is really good at reading the play and is great on defense.”

On the schedule in the coming week is a road match at Westmont. That closes out the first half of the round robin. 

In this large league, teams play others twice, making for a 16-game schedule. That shows there is a lot of time and a lot of matches to gain ground within the standings.

Optimism reigns high. Low commented that the growing chemistry is greatly helping. Brozic looked ahead with positivity.

“CCS is a big goal,” Brozic said. “(Coach) Daniel Clifton could lead us there, with practices and training.”