Jaguars, Griffins Triumph In Volleyball Semis
By David Boldt and Sung-Eun Song
The battle is not always to the strong, nor the race always to the swift -- but that is the way to bet. Or so goes the old Las Vegas axiom, and so went the varsity volleyball semifinals held at International Tuesday afternoon.
A bettor who bet the favorite in all four contests would have cleaned up, as the favored team won in each case, usually by a comfortable margin, though there were some attempted upsets.
As a result, teams from International and Cooperative will face each other in both the boys and girls championship games next week, while teams from Cambridge and Christian Learning will have to battle for third-place bragging rights in the consolation games.
On the bright side, all of the games in the finals – both championship and consolation contests – promise to be close and exciting, whereas Tuesday’s action tended more toward the cut-and-dried with all four matches being decided in straight sets, often by overwhelming scores.
Boys: Underdogs Put Up a Fight
Interestingly, the team that may have come closest to pulling off a successful insurrection was the Cambridge boys team. Cambridge has not won a boys volleyball game in years, but the last time they did so it was an upset victory over a heavily favored team in the playoffs, and they seemed to have thoughts of doing it again.
Playing against undefeated International, the Knights battled point-for-point with the Griffins until 19-19, at which point the Griffins decided that this nonsense had to stop and won the next six points,moved ahead, finally taking the set 25-19.
Both teams continued to play in an up tempo, aggressive style in the second set, but International took at 8-2 lead and stayed in control of this one winning easily 25-8.
Both teams continued to play in an up tempo, aggressive style in the second set, but International took at 8-2 lead and stayed in control of this one winning easily 25-8.
Juan Sebastian Narvaez led the Griffin attack, deftly switching tactics as needed – spiking the ball when that was going to work, tapping the ball into an open spot when that seemed the more likely way to score. Santiago Maldonado likewise scored kill, after kill for the Griffins. The Griffins servers were faster and more accurate
The Knights made some nice plays, particularly in receiving service and making defensive digs, but couldn’t manage the consistency and power needed to match the Griffins.
Christian Learning, for its part, put up a spirited defense in the first set against Cooperative before losing 25-20. The Eagles were battling for every point, and there were several long rallies. Jesse Mann was outstanding for the Eagles.
The second set consisted of alternating runs by the two teams. Christian Learning actually led 6-4 in the early stages, but then the Jaguars switched to a more aggressive style and were soon in full command, while Christian Learning struggled to find its rhythm.
A ball-handling error seemed to deflate the Eagles, and the Jaguars took advantage of the shift in momentum to take command of the set, which they won 25-15.
Girls: More like Executions than Contests
Christian Learning really never had a chance against undefeated International, which won 25-12, 25-7, keeping intact its record of not having lost a set this year.
The International attack was led by Maria Victoria Gutierrez, Beatriz Nallar and eighth grader Clara Harangue. Nallar personally powered five straight kills in the opening moments of the match to give the Griffins an 11-4 lead they never relinquished.
Eagles Rebecca Kindle and Susana Alvarez managed some good blocks, but the Eagles were never able to figure a way to consistently stop the International offense.
The Eagles hopes were decisively crushed in the second set when Harriague reeled off eight consecutive service aces.
Cambridge had only marginally better luck against Cooperative, losing both sets by double-digit margins. (The exact scores were in doubt Tuesday night because of a scoreboard malfunction and the unavailability of the official score sheets after the game.)
Cooperative dominated play from the start, moving out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set. Jaguar Ana Peredo seemed able to do whatever was needed, setting the ball perfectly to her teammates when that seemed the best option, smashing it herself when that seemed called for. Tania Landivar’s quick responses on defense often kept a ball in play. The Jaguars’ team play was a marvel to behold.
Cambridge got some good blocks by Lisa Delboy, and Valeria LaTorre managed several kills and blocks, but it wasn’t enough to stall the Griffins momentum, which just rolled on.
