Eagles suppress Jaguar insurrection
With a final fusilade of pounding spikes, the Christian Learning boys varsity volleyball team defeated a determined and disciplined Cooperative team Tuesday in the Christian Learning gym.
The Eagles won a hard-fought opening set 25-21, even though the Jaguars had jumped out to an 8-1 lead when play began. The second set was just as hotly contested, and Cooperative prevailed this time, 25-22.
The third set looked like it would be as close, but after a tie at 5-5, the Eagles worked their way to an 8-5 advantage. The four of the next six points were decided in favor of the Eagles by huge smashes, three by Esteban Eguez and one by Jeff Stabler, moving Christian Learning to a commanding 13-6 advantage.
The final two points were decided on long rallies, with both teams making heroic saves, and hitting hard spikes, but with Christian Learning ultimately prevailing both times before a standing cheering crowd.
The second rally was finally ended with a spike by Eagle Danny Canaviri, giving the Eagles a 15-6 victory.
It was a beautiful match to watch, and it was too bad someone had to lose. Much of the action was confined to the area one meter to each side of the net as on play after play the teams took turns spiking, dinking, blocking and digging next to the net.
Sometimes it seemed as if the ball only wnt to the back row when the boys up front needed a rest -- or felt they just had to try something else because what they were doing wasn't working.
The big men up front for Christian Learning were Eguez and Stabler, but there was plenty of supporting help, and the Eagles could be credited with better all-around play with key contributions from Canaviri, Kyle Swope, and others.
Cooperative's play was much more controlled and calculated. On volley after volley the ball would be bumped to sure-handed setter David Shin, who would put it right above the net for either Juan Alfredo Abuawad or Diego Morales, depending on who was in the front line.
Abuawad, the team captain, was probably the high scorer in the game. It's hard to keep tabs on such things, but at the point in the second set when Cooperative led 9-7, Abuawad had knocked in 7 of the Jaguars nine points, and blocked an Eagle spike attempt for an eighth point.
Abuawad didn't usually try to smash the ball. More often he tapped it into an open spot. He benefited from the fact that he could jump higher above the net than any other player on the floor, and the fact that Shin could put the ball right there for him.
A key factor in the third set was that Abuawad, because of the rotation, was in the back row for almost all of it. However, once Eguez started firing, it's possible no one could have stopped the Eagles.
The line-up for the victorious Eagles was Paul Estes, Nicolas Smith, Swope, Andre Larsen, Alejandro Garcia, Canaviri, Eguez, Stabler (the team captain) and Tomas Somare.
The Jaguar line-up was Abuawad, Jorge Rojas, Shin, Wilson Salvatierra, Mateus de Carvalho, Morales, Jorge Melgar, and Oliver Lederman.
International coasts against Cambridge
The International boys varsity volleyball team had little difficulty disposing of Cambridge in straight sets 25-11 and 25-15.
Cambridge almost forfeited. It only had five players a few minutes before game time, but a sixth player arrived in the nick of time.
International substituted freely right from the start, and never trailed the Knights, who have not won a game all season.
With a final fusilade of pounding spikes, the Christian Learning boys varsity volleyball team defeated a determined and disciplined Cooperative team Tuesday in the Christian Learning gym.
The Eagles won a hard-fought opening set 25-21, even though the Jaguars had jumped out to an 8-1 lead when play began. The second set was just as hotly contested, and Cooperative prevailed this time, 25-22.
The third set looked like it would be as close, but after a tie at 5-5, the Eagles worked their way to an 8-5 advantage. The four of the next six points were decided in favor of the Eagles by huge smashes, three by Esteban Eguez and one by Jeff Stabler, moving Christian Learning to a commanding 13-6 advantage.
The final two points were decided on long rallies, with both teams making heroic saves, and hitting hard spikes, but with Christian Learning ultimately prevailing both times before a standing cheering crowd.
The second rally was finally ended with a spike by Eagle Danny Canaviri, giving the Eagles a 15-6 victory.
It was a beautiful match to watch, and it was too bad someone had to lose. Much of the action was confined to the area one meter to each side of the net as on play after play the teams took turns spiking, dinking, blocking and digging next to the net.
Sometimes it seemed as if the ball only wnt to the back row when the boys up front needed a rest -- or felt they just had to try something else because what they were doing wasn't working.
The big men up front for Christian Learning were Eguez and Stabler, but there was plenty of supporting help, and the Eagles could be credited with better all-around play with key contributions from Canaviri, Kyle Swope, and others.
Cooperative's play was much more controlled and calculated. On volley after volley the ball would be bumped to sure-handed setter David Shin, who would put it right above the net for either Juan Alfredo Abuawad or Diego Morales, depending on who was in the front line.
Abuawad, the team captain, was probably the high scorer in the game. It's hard to keep tabs on such things, but at the point in the second set when Cooperative led 9-7, Abuawad had knocked in 7 of the Jaguars nine points, and blocked an Eagle spike attempt for an eighth point.
Abuawad didn't usually try to smash the ball. More often he tapped it into an open spot. He benefited from the fact that he could jump higher above the net than any other player on the floor, and the fact that Shin could put the ball right there for him.
A key factor in the third set was that Abuawad, because of the rotation, was in the back row for almost all of it. However, once Eguez started firing, it's possible no one could have stopped the Eagles.
The line-up for the victorious Eagles was Paul Estes, Nicolas Smith, Swope, Andre Larsen, Alejandro Garcia, Canaviri, Eguez, Stabler (the team captain) and Tomas Somare.
The Jaguar line-up was Abuawad, Jorge Rojas, Shin, Wilson Salvatierra, Mateus de Carvalho, Morales, Jorge Melgar, and Oliver Lederman.
International coasts against Cambridge
The International boys varsity volleyball team had little difficulty disposing of Cambridge in straight sets 25-11 and 25-15.
Cambridge almost forfeited. It only had five players a few minutes before game time, but a sixth player arrived in the nick of time.
International substituted freely right from the start, and never trailed the Knights, who have not won a game all season.
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DUEL AT THE NET -- Griffin David Huang (5) blocks Chris Cocciani's attempted spike.
Jonatan Muñoz, International
In the second set it hhad to rush in more and younger substitutes onto the floor because the game was becoming a rout, with the Griffins leading 11-1.
More to come.
