VICTORY BLUR -- Chaos reigned after the the Jaguars finally sealed their championship.
Julia Boldt, Cooperative.
Jaguars edge Eagles in Topsy-Turvy Thriller
The Cooperative boys junior varsity volleyball rescued itself from a precipitous collapse and rallied to defeat Christian Learning in three sets in Thursday's championship game played in the Jaguars gym.
The Jaguars´ win enabled them to complete an undefeated 8-0 season, but it wasn't easy. The championship was a terrific match marked by long rallies in which both teams were hitting the ball hard and making dazzling saves. They took turns dominating one another, then went at it hammer and tongs in a deciding set decided by just two points.
The Cooperative boys junior varsity volleyball rescued itself from a precipitous collapse and rallied to defeat Christian Learning in three sets in Thursday's championship game played in the Jaguars gym.
The Jaguars´ win enabled them to complete an undefeated 8-0 season, but it wasn't easy. The championship was a terrific match marked by long rallies in which both teams were hitting the ball hard and making dazzling saves. They took turns dominating one another, then went at it hammer and tongs in a deciding set decided by just two points.
_____________BIG HITTER -- Jaguar Josue Abuawad (1) prepares to pound a ball that Giorgio Rodrigano has just gone down on his knees to retrieve.
Julia Boldt, Cooperative
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The action was accompanied by the loudest crowd noise in recent memory as a determined group of Jaguar students, led by their cheerleaders, actually outshouted a larger (but less concentrated) band of Eagle adherents, which may never have happened before.
Cooperative got off to the faster start in the opening set, jumping off to an 11-6 lead and then hanging onto that margin during furious rallies. The Little Jaguars were consistently able to set the ball up for their big man, Josue Abuawad, who responded by unleashing hard,accurate spikes.
However, the Little Eagles were often capable of handling the hits and firing the ball back as fast as it had come. On one early point Abuawad unleashed five consecutive spikes, which were all returned. The sixth one, though, proved the charm and the Jaguars took the point.
The Jaguars , for their part, were able to handle the hard serves of Gaston Waldman, Felipe Arce and Haziel Martinez, who had overwhelmed many Christian Learning opponents. The Eagle servers also seemed to lack the precision they had shown in earlier games, possibly because they were pumping a little too much adrenalin into their veins for the championship contest.
The second set was a different story altogether. This time it was Christian Learning getting out in front 8-4, aided by some strong serves by Martinez. At that point Arce came to the line and his solid serving, though usually returned by Cooperative, seemed to steady his teammates. Now it was Christian Learning that was methodically setting the ball up for its front men, and Cooperative that was making the errors.
The Eagles took the next 13 points in a row, before allowing the Jaguars another point, then zipped through the final four points to win 25-5, the worst one-set thrashing any volleyball team has inflicted on another this season.
One almost wondered if Cooperative would answer the bell for the third set, but the Jaguars came out and quickly established that they were not going to roll over for the upstart Eagles. The Jaguars returned to their earlier form, and step-by-step built a 10-5 lead.
But at that point the Eagles began a counterattack that brought the score to 14-13 -- and the crowd to its feet -- before the Jaguars got the final point on an Eagle misplay.
The line-up for Christian Learning was Arce, Richard Enns, Cesar Flores, Martinez, Jose Merco, Wesley Ordoñez, Claudio Sandoval and Waldman.
It was a somewhat anticlimactic ending to what had been a glorious match, but the Jaguars were cvlearly willing to take it. Mayhem ensued as screaming Cooperative fans streamed onto the court to embrace the victors Jaguars who leaped and yelled in exultation, several stripping off their jerseys.
The line-up for the victorious Jaguars was Abuawad, Alejandro Rosas, Eduardo Ribera, Luis Peredo, Rodrigo Adriazola, Cho Jang Ho, Mathew DeLozier, Fernando Viacava, Jorge Zankiz, Mateus Belmonte, G. Rodriguez, and Sebastian Zankiz.It was a somewhat anticlimactic ending to what had been a glorious match, but the Jaguars were cvlearly willing to take it. Mayhem ensued as screaming Cooperative fans streamed onto the court to embrace the victors Jaguars who leaped and yelled in exultation, several stripping off their jerseys.
Knights rise to third place, beating Griffins
The Cambridge boys junior varsity volleyball team, which had one only one other game this season, came up big against International in the consolation game played Thursday at Cooperatitive, winning in straight sets.
The win gave them third place for the year.
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EXULTATION -- Cambridge players Andres (1) and Santiago Hurtado (3) and Federico Rocco (10)celebrate after nailing final point. Jonatan Muñoz, International
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The Junior Knights jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set on the stong serving of Andres Hurtado, and held that four-point advantage until they led 10-6, at which point they seemed to improve their consistency.
Their lead grew to 14-6, and then 18-9 and 20-11. International began to come back at that point, but it was too late and Cambridge was able to close out the first set 25-16.
In the second set International seemed to have rallied, and it was the Griffins who held the upper hand by two or three points all the way until the Knights were able to knot the score at 23-all. The Knights then quickly took the next two points to take the set and the match.
The line-up for the Knights was Diego Bejar, Hurtado, Jose Rivero, Santiago Hurtado, Kevin Mendez, and Federico Rocco.
The line-up for International was Claudio Vinicunis, German Ferraris, Alejandro Saldano, Jose Sciaroni, Vitor Santas, Juan Narvaez, Arturo Barrientos, Jorge Ortiz, and Hans Hartmann.
