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Granada wins showdown
Oakland Tribune, Oct 21, 2005 by Brianne Farmer, STAFF WRITER
PLEASANTON -- Amador Valley wanted redemption. Granada wanted to prove its previous win over the Dons, the defending East Bay Athletic League girls volleyball champions, was no fluke.
Thursday evening the two teams who came in tied for first place got their opportunity.
Despite it being the first match of the second half of EBAL play, there was a playoff-like atmosphere, and the two teams played up to the billing.
In a seesaw battle the Matadors took the first game 30-28 but Amador Valley answered with a 25-21 win to make it a best-of-three series.
Granada didn't need the three games, as it won the next two -- 25- 22, 25-18 -- to take sole possession of first place in the EBAL.
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"It doesn't get any better that this," Granada coach Matt Robles said. "My girls played huge. They've been hungry, and we've been working on not settling. They definitely stepped it up tonight."
The Matadors led the majority of Game 1, but the Dons battled back from being down 21-12 and then again 24-20 to tie the game at 24.
From there, both teams showcased their depth at the hitting position, with seven players scoring on kills for the final 10 points.
Senior Masha Vaysburg gave Granada (6-1) the finishing touch it needed, when she came up with a giant block on a hit by Amador Valley's Sophia Dunworth for the 30-28 Matador win.
"We knew they weren't going to let up," Vaysburg said of the Dons, who had just come back from being down a game on Tuesday to win three straight in a victory over Foothill. "We watched them play Foothill and saw them put up such a fight."
Sure enough, in Game 2, the Dons (5-2) went on a tear, and after a 8-0 run Amador Valley held a 20-13 lead. Sophomore Katie Gellerman had four kills in that span, and Lindsay Fogarty earned seven service points.
Amador Valley held on for the 25-21 Game 2 win, but that was the only win they would see Thursday night.
With very few mistakes made by either team in the final two games, the match came down to which team could better defend. Thursday, it was Granada.
Vaysburg tallied eight blocks for Granada while Randi Helgesen and Jamie Miller were solid defenders from the back line.
"Defense has been something we've been working on a lot," Granada's Christa Hicks said. "Randi and Jamie did so well on digs. I think this was the best match for both of them all season."
Riding the strong defense, the Matadors were able to keep the Dons at bay in the final two games, and Vaysburg finished off the match on a enormous kill for the 25-18 Game 4 win, and the match victory.
"I think a lot of people thought when we beat Amador at the beginning of the year it was just a fluke," Robles said. "I don't think a lot of people had lot of respect for our team. No body rolled over tonight -- it was a battle. I think this validates a lot for us."
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