Prep volleyball: Height accents Capital's hustle, defense in win over Demonettes
9/3/2008
The Lady Jaguars of Capital High aren't runts any more, at least in the middle of the volleyball court.
The program has survived using players that were closer to 5-foot than 6-foot for the past three seasons, but the addition of two middle blockers who are 5-9 and 5-10, are welcome additions to a team that has made hustle and defense its staple.
On Wednesday night, sophomores Sarah Romero (5-9) and Rocio Archuleta (5-10) showed what height can do for the Lady Jaguars as they swept Santa Fe High 25-19, 26-24, 25-23 in an nondistrict match in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium.
Class AAAA Capital was able to hit and block better than the AAAAA Demonettes. The Lady Jaguars also displayed their usual hustle and defensive tenacity, which helped spur rallies in Games 2 and 3. Archuleta had had three blocks to lead the Lady Jaguars, while Romero came up with a block in Game 3 for a 21-20 Capital lead her team never relinquished.
Capital head coach Natalie Garcia said she hasn't deviated any from the system she has taught for the past two seasons — the results are all that have changed.
"Defensively, we do have to adjust, it's just that the adjustment now is that we get to see a block in the middle where we hadn't before," Garcia said. "If we had a 5-5 middle blocker, the philosophy would be the same, but the outcome would be different."
this outcome often went Capital's way. Not only did Romero and Archuleta do a strong job providing a stiff challenge in the middle, but a pair of 5-4 outside hitters — Erika Ortega and Regina Ritchie — were aggressive at the net.
Ortega had five of her team-high nine kills in opening game, including the game winner for 25-19, while Ritchie spread out her seven kills more evenly.
"We kind of have confidence now that we can go to the net and put it away just like the bigger girls who are 5-7 or 5-9," Ortega said.
Confidence is a quality the Demonettes lack at the moment, as a team that lacks much varsity experience is trying to learn new head coach Sam Estrada's system. At times, they looked like a cohesive unit, especially during an 8-1 run in the middle of Game 2 to take a 17-11 lead.
Santa Fe High (0-2) tightened its defense, especially in the middle, and it took some of the aggressiveness out of the Lady Jaguars.
The momentum was short-lived, however, when Destany Gallegos had a tip kill to stop the rally, then followed it with a diving dig on Clarissa Garcia's kill attempt that eventually led to a Santa Fe High passing error to bring Capital (1-1) to within 17-13.
It was a part of a five-point swing that brought the Lady Jaguars to within 17-16.
Estrada said it was the kind of hustle and determination the Demonettes could learn from down the road.
"I think momentum swung more on attitude than anything else," Estrada said. "It's not a fighting attitude right now. I wish they played more over the summer, which they didn't get a chance to, and you see the teams that are ranked because they play all spring and are all fine-tuned. We're not even close to that."