Varsity Boys Volleyball advanced to the third round of the CCS DII Playoffs after defeating Soquel High School 3-1 on Tuesday, May 13. MVHS started off strong by leading most of the first set, winning 25-20. Junior and middle blocker Pratham Kannan landed several kills on court by penetrating weak areas in SHS’ defense. The momentum of that first set carried over to the second, with senior and outside hitter Praneel Shah scoring several kills against a faltering defense from SHS to finish 25-21. SHS recovered to face MVHS head to head during the third set, taking the lead halfway through and ultimately staying out of MVHS’ reach to take the set with 25-23. However, MVHS rebounded to dominate the fourth set, cinching their win with a final score of 25-13.
Shah says a big part of the team’s success during the first two sets was their strong defense and consistent side outs. Even during tougher rotations of either teams’ players — when MVHS’ lineup wasn’t ideally positioned for offensive or defensive plays — Shah says the team was still able to execute crucial kills.
MVHS’ defense was especially strong at the middle of the net, according to senior and defensive specialist Ridwan Khan. Strong performance from the team’s middle hitters and mistakes from SHS allowed MVHS to take an early lead in the first two sets. SHS came close to taking the lead a couple of times by reducing the gap to only two points, but MVHS tightened their defense to claim the final victory. Just as the team has been progressing through post season playoffs, Khan attributes its success to momentum accumulated from their previous games. Khan also says although SHS appeared to be a skilled team during warmups, he was confident in MVHS’ ability to secure an early win.
“I know we expected to win because we were the higher seed, but they definitely surprised us,” Khan said. “Especially with that third set when they took the two-point win. Some of us thought we were going to steamroll these guys, but they put up a fight. I’m glad that we were able to respond well.”
While the momentum during the first two sets helped the team gain confidence on the court, Shah believes losing the third set 25-23 reflects how the team has been forced to adapt to repositioning players in new roles due to recent injuries. Shah acquired a neck injury during the game, while Kannan had a lower back injury, which limited the team’s major point scorers from performing to the best of their abilities. Shah believes that because of the adjustment in roles, it was difficult for the team to adapt quickly.
The Matadors came back in the fourth set with explosive energy, winning the set in part because of two kills and one block early in the set by junior Joaquin Garcia. Shah believes that the energy helped carry the momentum of the team throughout the rest of the game, noting specific aspects that led the Matadors to success.
“In the fourth set, we kept the energy up as a team, and that was a key factor,” Shah said. “We also did well on defense, and serve-receive was also a key part of the game and being able to get side outs, especially in hard rotations.”
