By David Boldt
The extensively retooled 2011 edition of the Cooperative boys varsity volleyball team defeated perennial cellar-dwellers Cambridge two sets to one in a match played at the Jaguar field house Tuesday afternoon.
Gone were the big, tall stars of last year’s championship team --Mateus Juan Alfredo Abuawad, DeCarvalho, and Pablo Roda – but the Jaguars unveiled one new big man – Camilo Avila – who in past years has concentrated on golf.
Several other returning players, including Josue Abuawad, Jose Mozza, and Andres Shin demonstrated that they had played the game before, and captain Jorge Melgar showed that over the vacation he had developed a truly vicious serve.
Cambridge, for its part, put up a better fight than in recent years, when it almost unfailingly lost to the Jaguars in straight sets by wide margins. And when the Jaguars decided to rest some of their starters in the second set, the Knights took full advantage of the opportunity and took the set rather easily, 25-19, indicating that at least at the beginning of the season there is a big disparity between the Jaguar starters and substitutes.
In the set Cambridge ran off a series of points during the service of Juan Paniagua who, instead of trying to power the ball to an open or unprepared defender, launched high, arcing serves, one of which came within inches of hitting the roof of the gym. After that one dropped in for a point, another Cambridge player came over and pantomimed shining Paniagua’s shoes.
In the third and deciding set the Jaguars decided they would not be taking any stupid chances, reinserted the starters, and took charge of play as masterfully as their predecessors had ever done in past years. They streaked out to an 11-0 lead, and then coasted home, more or less, to win 15-4.
Griffins Beat Eagles 2-0
By Sung Eun Song, SCIS
The International School varsity boys volleyball team dominated the floor on Tuesday at SCIS gym, defeating the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center
In the first set, the Eagles jumped to an early 6-3 lead but it was just a matter of time before the Griffins caught up with them at 7-7. Soon after this, the Griffins took the lead, and they gradually widened the margin until they won 25-14. There were two key players who greatly contributed to Griffins’ victory; Juan Sebastian Narvaez and Francisco Gonzales. Juan Sebastian Narvaez not only had an outstanding hitting, but he also led the Griffins defensively, picking up several blocks. Francisco Gonzales was another great attacker, who fired spikes so powerfully that they were completely unblockable. Both of them were highly skilled at spotting empty spots of the Eagle’s side and spiking accurately to them. The outstanding player of Eagles was Andre Ronald Larsen. He moved the ball around with delicacy and precision, continuously aiding Eagles to score. The other player who contributed most to the Eagles was Jesse Mann, who was able to keep the Eagles on their toes defensively.
In the second set, Eagles fell behind early as Griffins' starting server put some tough serves in. The Griffins grabbed an early 4-0 lead as soon as the game began. Although the Eagles tried to quickly climb back into the match, the Griffins expanded the score to a 10 point lead in a twinkling, 13-3. The Griffins maintained control of the second set, finally winning 25-9.
