The Cupertino Courier
Sports
Monta Vista rolling along in girls volleyball
By MIKE BARNHART
If the Monta Vista girls volleyball team can close out regular season play in the same fashion it finishes matches, there is an excellent chance that the Matadors in two weeks time will be the proud owners of a new championship banner.
Nobody on Monta Vista's side is making bold predictions, though, and no opponent is going to allow the Matadors to claim the El Camino flag without a fight. However, truth be told, no division foe has stopped the Matadors either.
After a five-game victory over Lynbrook and a 3-0 sweep of Fremont last week, Monta Vista was sitting pretty with a 7-0 record and a two-match lead in the El Camino standings. If the Matadors were able to win at Wilcox on Oct. 17, they will take at least a two-game lead into their next game, a showdown against second-place Milpitas.
"That will be a key game, a tough game," Monta Vista coach Colin Anderson declared. "We can't afford to look past any team, but Milpitas at home will be big."
Indeed! When the Trojans come to town, Oct. 24, 6:45 p.m., they likely will still be steamed over what happened in their gym a couple of weeks ago.
"Milpitas won the first two games and had us at match point in the third," Anderson recalled the Oct. 3 match. But the Matadors managed to escape that third game, then won the next two for a 3-2 triumph.
The Mats also trailed 2-1 at Lynbrook on Oct. 10, before winning 3-2. The Vikings, paced by senior outside hitter Jenna Cleaveland and senior middle blocker Emily Shen, won the first and third games, 25-23, but the Matadors took the fourth game, 25-21, before taking the decisive fifth, 15-3.
"We've been good at closing out games," Anderson noted, "and really good in the fifth game."
Monta Vista, whose 13-7 overall record includes a 3-2, non-league decision at Mountain View, features a senior-laden line-up led by outside hitter Alex Gatley and setter Jane Xu.
"She's the glue of our team," Anderson said of Xu. "We rely on her setting a great deal."
Gatley, a first-team all-leaguer in both volleyball and soccer during her sophomore and junior seasons, scored 29 kills during the Mats' two wins last week.
"Gatley has really come on strong offensively for us," Anderson praised. "Her defense always has been strong, but her hitting has picked up."
Middle hitters Devin Peters and Kelly Bodwin join Gatley as third-year varsity players. Three other seniors, Xu and defensive specialists Kim Ang and Emily Rubin, are in their second season with the varsity.
Juniors Jessie Barry and Nicole Dao also are regulars in Anderson's rotation.
"Barry comes in and gets us key points when we really needed them," Anderson said. "She'll get a string of service aces, a hit here, a block there."
Other contributors are juniors Tara Wyatt and Dolores Hernandez, sophomore Ann Wang and freshmen Audrey Lee and Paulina Dao.
Homestead hanging tough
While Monta Vista tries to hold on to its division lead, the 2005 El Camino champion is holding its own this season in the De Anza Division.
Homestead, which went unbeaten in El Camino play last season, finished last week's play with a 4-3 division record, just one match behind Los Gatos (5-2) and one-half behind Palo Alto (5-3) and Los Altos (5-3).
Coming off five wins and a championship at the Del Mar Classic tournament, the Mustangs won two De Anza matches last week. First, they used 21 kills from sophomore Katherine Fischer to beat Saratoga (4-3) in four games. Two nights later, juniors Lauren Hoopes and Diana Moberg both had seven kills in a 3-0 victory over Mountain View (0-7).
Palo Alto, a team that beat the Mustangs in five games to open division play, was the team they beat in the Del Mar tourney finals. The two teams squared off again Oct. 17 in Palo Alto. Homestead resumes division play at Gunn (2-4) on Oct. 25, one night before hosting Los Gatos.
