|
|
|
The Gridley Bulldog volleyball team, the sixth seed, earned a first-round bye in the Northern Section Division IV play-offs with their play during the season, and gave them the opportunity to have a week off to prepare for their second round match-up. It wasn't enough.
The Willows Honkers, champions of the Sacramento Valley League, and seeded third in Division IV, showed why they compiled a gaudy 30-7 regular season record, dispatching of the hard-fighting Bulldogs in three straight games 25-16, 25-19, 25-12 ending the Gridley season Tuesday night.
“We made too many mistakes tonight to beat a team this good.” said Sarah Tamagni.
It certainly wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of Gridley. The girls threw themselves into the game from the first point, battling the hard-hitting Honkers tooth-and-nail, but for every great save made, or spectacular point won, there were more mistakes made by the way of passing, positioning, and hitting.
Gridley showed they were ready to play in the first game, matching Willows shot for shot for the first 12 points, before Willows seemed to unravel Gridley's strategy. Whatever was said by the Honkers coach to her players must have made a difference, because Willows scored the next five points, and outscored the Bulldogs 13-4 the rest of the way to take the first game.
Tamagni played several different lineups throughout the night, subbing players in and out trying to find a combination which would click, but Willows, who rarely ever subbed, and why would you when you have a talented group like theirs, continued to play its game, moving the ball up and down the net, never falling into set patterns, which made it tough for the Gridley front row to be effective blockers.
Game two began with Willows jumping out to a quick five point lead 14-9, but senior RoxiKhan served three winners for the Bulldogs to pull Gridley within two points, and forced Willows into a time out. Willows won the next point following the time out, and two points would be as close as the Bulldogs would get to the lead.
Despite some good net play by Alexis Garcia, Katie Olson, and Ashtyn Macfarlane, the Gridley hitters had trouble finding holes to hit through the Honker defense. While many of the Gridley balls were hit with the authority of a Barry Zito change-up, Willows hitters smashed Justin Verlander fastballs at the Gridley back row.
The Gridley Bulldog volleyball team, the sixth seed, earned a first-round bye in the Northern Section Division IV play-offs with their play during the season, and gave them the opportunity to have a week off to prepare for their second round match-up. It wasn't enough.
The Willows Honkers, champions of the Sacramento Valley League, and seeded third in Division IV, showed why they compiled a gaudy 30-7 regular season record, dispatching of the hard-fighting Bulldogs in three straight games 25-16, 25-19, 25-12 ending the Gridley season Tuesday night.
“We made too many mistakes tonight to beat a team this good.” said Sarah Tamagni.
It certainly wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of Gridley. The girls threw themselves into the game from the first point, battling the hard-hitting Honkers tooth-and-nail, but for every great save made, or spectacular point won, there were more mistakes made by the way of passing, positioning, and hitting.
Gridley showed they were ready to play in the first game, matching Willows shot for shot for the first 12 points, before Willows seemed to unravel Gridley's strategy. Whatever was said by the Honkers coach to her players must have made a difference, because Willows scored the next five points, and outscored the Bulldogs 13-4 the rest of the way to take the first game.
Tamagni played several different lineups throughout the night, subbing players in and out trying to find a combination which would click, but Willows, who rarely ever subbed, and why would you when you have a talented group like theirs, continued to play its game, moving the ball up and down the net, never falling into set patterns, which made it tough for the Gridley front row to be effective blockers.
Game two began with Willows jumping out to a quick five point lead 14-9, but senior RoxiKhan served three winners for the Bulldogs to pull Gridley within two points, and forced Willows into a time out. Willows won the next point following the time out, and two points would be as close as the Bulldogs would get to the lead.
Despite some good net play by Alexis Garcia, Katie Olson, and Ashtyn Macfarlane, the Gridley hitters had trouble finding holes to hit through the Honker defense. While many of the Gridley balls were hit with the authority of a Barry Zito change-up, Willows hitters smashed Justin Verlander fastballs at the Gridley back row.
Gridley's offense suffered due to Willows hard hitting, and despite the Bulldog's best efforts at keeping the ball in play, passing these hard hit balls proved to be difficult for Gridley's back row. The poor passing forced Gridley to scramble just to keep the ball alive, using all three hits just to get the ball back over the net.
This is not a formula for success against teams which pass the ball well, and Willows certainly knew how to move the ball. Most every time Gridley managed to save a ball across to the Honkers, another powerful shot was sent back at the Bulldogs. It proved to be too much in the end as Willows took game two 25-19.
The third game was more of the same, and despite a few impressive kills by senior Katie Olson, who used game three to unleash a few face-breaking spikes onto Willows side of the net, the Honkers poured it on jumping out to a big lead and cruising home to the victory.
Gridley, which loses only three players from this seasons squad, has the opportunity to move up the volleyball ladder over the next few years with a wealth of young talent. It will be up to the young ladies to dedicate themselves to improving their games if the Bulldogs want to make a strong push at taking on the best of the section, including the Honkers, who have most of their team playing at the club level outside of the high school season.
