Lineup changes prove to be successful for playoff run
Wildcats make it all the way to CIF Norcal semifinals
Before the California Interscholastic Federation Northern Regional playoffs, Los Gatos girls volleyball coach Brynja Thompson decided that the Wildcats’ lineup would have some changes in their next match.
The moves were successful, as 13th-seed Los Gatos upset two straight higher seeds on the road before falling in a five-set match against No. 1 seed Oak Ridge-el Dorado Hills in the Northern Regional Division I semifinals, only two steps from the state championships.
“We needed to be more diverse, we needed to have more options, more setting and more attacking options,” said Thompson about one of the moves.
Sydney Morey was inserted into the lineup as a setter, allowing Hannah Slover to carry more attacking responsibilities. “(Slover) did everything. She continued to set, she attacked more often, and she was able to serve-receive and play defense,” Thompson said. “(Morey) did an excellent job, absolutely fantastic.”
There were other changes.
“We switched people around in the back row a lot more than we normally do in order to provide rest for some of our jumpers,” Thompson said. “We allowed our libero (Emily Gouldrup) to play for more people than she normally does.
“Everybody bought in.
Everybody was on board,” said Thompson about the changes.
Thompson’s prescience about future long matches was correct. After a threeset sweep of No. 4 Lowellsan Francisco to open the Northern Regional playoffs, Los Gatos outlasted No. 5 Monte Vista-danville 1825, 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13.
“I think we were able to handle the pressure in a composed manner,” said Thompson about the fifth set., then about the whole match, she said. “Monte Vista plays well and is coached well. Everybody enjoyed the chess-match plays. It was very back and forth.”
Natalie Anthony, a senior, led Los Gatos in kills with 16. Slover, a junior, served 10 aces. Among the Wildcats who had double-digit digs were seniors Eileen Chen (13), Gouldrup (12) and Taylor Vales (11).
Los Gatos, which finished the season with a 25-9 overall record, fell in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division. The seventh-seeded Wildcats were edged by No. 2 St. Ignatius 20-25, 25-17, 25-18, 16-25, 15-8 on Oct. 30.
“That match was really
fun. Both teams did a fabulous job on both sides of the net. I think both teams could have served or serve-receive a little better,” Thompson said. “Our defense was phenomenal. St. Ignatius’ blocking was incredible, which kept us from scoring.
“They just got to 15 first (in the final set). It was a very even match.”
Freshman Nicole Steiner led the Wildcats in kills with 13, and Chen added 10. Both athletes also played well defensively. Allison Black, a sophomore middle, had 3.5 blocks, and Gouldrup produced 16 digs in the victory. Vales also played very well, along with Anthony, who had nine kills.
The loss had a silver lining for Los Gatos — it allowed the Wildcats to rest and not play any matches for 10 days. The Wildcats automatically qualified for the Northern Regional playoffs by playing in the CCS Open Division.
“We needed that rest, we needed to recover,” Thompson said. “One of our captains before Norcal said ‘We are not at the peak yet, we are only going up.’ And she was absolutely right.”