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| DELICATE DUEL -- Griffin Noelia Quinteros and Jaguar Sofia Sotelo seem to have an equal chance at the ball when the score was 16-16 in the first set. Jonatan Muñoz, International |
Jaguars' relentless attack beats Griffins
Playing what seemed to be almost error-free volleyball, the Cooperative girls varsity volleyball team defeated International in two hard-fought sets Monday in the Griffins gym to gain its second consecutive League title.
The opening set began, and indeed continued for quite a while, as a very close affair, with long rallies marked by great offensive and defensive efforts. However, after a tie at 16-16 the Jaguars played the rest of the set without making an unforced error. International made only a few, but they made the difference as Cooperative prevailed 25-18.
International looked as if it were on the comeback trail at the start of the second set as the Griffins jumped out to a 5-1 lead, and eventually worked to a 12-4 advantage. The Jaguars rallied at this point and crept back up until they had tied the score at 15-15. The two teams then played in lockstep, tying repeatedly until 22-22, at which point the Jaguars put together a three-point surge to take the set 25-22 and win the match.
The victory was a tribute, or at least a vindication, of the disciplined style of play and coaching employed by Aleksandar Mahdjik, the Yul Brynner-esque Serbian expat who coaches the Cooperative team.
When International beat his team in their second meeting of the season he freely conceded that the Griffins had raised the level of play way above where it had been in the first contest, which Cooperative had won. "They were better than us," he freely conceded, indicating he intended for his team to move up to or above that level for the finals.
But for the start of the game "Madja," as he is known, had three of his usual starters on the bench for disciplinary infractions, either forgetting a uniform shirt, or engaging in undefined acts of insubordination. This was surprising for this high-stakes occasion, but was even more amazing is that the substitutes played with the same error-free precision that would be the method by which the Jaguars would obtain victory.
The Jaguars big players -- chiefly Carla Limpias and Ana Paula Peredo -- were capable of hitting hard, cross-court shots when the chance presented itself, but the priority clearly was to get the ball back at all costs. The result was very few kills for points, but some amazing saves of balls hit off the net or retrieved from out-of-bounds.
After the score reached 16-16 the pressure started to wear down the Griffins, who made several unforced errors. The Jaguars outlasted the Griffins in a seemingly endless rally to move the score to 22-18. The final stroke was an attempted kill by Griffin Laura Maragaño that sailed long.
This seemed to deflate the Griffins, and the Jaguars took three quick points to win 25-18, and then
But International was by no means finished. They picked up the quality of their play at the beginning of the second set, and now it was Cooperative that was making the communication miscues. Even though the Cooperative "first team" was now out on the floor, the Griffins were able to move out to a 13-5 lead and seemed to be on a trajectory to force a third set.
The tide started to shift when Maria Jose Viacava went back to the service line at 13-5, and didn't leave it until the score was 13-10. But it wasn't all serves. Nabila Faran figured in several points as she demonstrated her forecourt dexterity, alternately blocking, setting up, and smashing. Peredo hit a beautifully placed smash to a undefended far corner.
Cooperative now seemed to have regained momentum, and a brilliant back-handed spike smacked right down the line by Aldana Roda with her back to the net seemed to buoy their spirits even further. The Jaguars overtook the Griffins at 17-17. The Griffins were able to get back in front 22-21, but then the machine-like precision of the Jaguars produced a four-point run that gave the Jaguars the set and the match.
In a lovely closing touch, after the traditional game-ending handshake the two teams applauded one another.
The line-up for Cooperative was Maria Velasco, Kamiya Megumi, Nabila Faran, Audrey Saucedo, Peredo, Susana Zankiz, Sofia Sotelo, Luciana Adriazola, Viacava, Roda, Limpias, and Flavia Cortes.
For International; Ciara Harriague, Pamela Suarez, Inez Fernandez, Diana Melgar,Noelia Quinteros, Adriana Ocampo, Stephanie Gioto, Victoria Gutierrez, Laura Maragaño, and Flavia Nostas.
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| VICTORY SMILES |
