Eagles bounce back against Imperial, winning 3-0
EL CENTRO — On Tuesday evening, the Southwest High School volleyball team was taken to the mat for the first time all season, courtesy of the Brawley Wildcats.
If the result of Thursday’s match against Imperial can be taken as any indicator, they didn’t like it.
Playing against the Tigers at home, the Eagles showed renewed focus, efficiently dispatching their foes 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-17).
The Brawley loss checked all of the boxes for “tough pill to swallow” territory, but it was earned.
The Eagles played hard in that one, but they really weren’t their sharpest. Their rotations didn’t seem to be gelling as well as they had in previous outings. Miscommunication and over-hitting scuppered more than a few points, and they had a hard time transitioning defense into offense against a ferocious Wildcat assault.
In short, on a night when they really needed their A-game, they were B-plus at best.
None of those issues were in evidence against Imperial. The Eagles simply seemed to possess a different energy in this match.
They took game one in textbook fashion, continually dictating terms and taking two points for every one the Tigers managed. It was over fairly quickly, and there wasn’t much room for tension to build.
Game two started out on a different note, with Imperial playing the Eagles tight and even holding a brief lead in the early goings, but that lead didn’t last long. A 6-6 tie became an 11-7 Southwest advantage, which became a 17-8 Southwest advantage, which pretty much ended the game.
Southwest appeared to be putting extra emphasis on having oomph up front throughout. They cycled in more size and rearranged their ordering to keep three ball strikers up front as opposed to two.
Andrea Aguilar, Madeline Jungers, Mary Abbati, and Skye Rivas all saw success in these reworked formations, which may be carried forward into the playoffs.
Game three was the most competitive of the night — as evidenced by its final score — but the Eagles never seemed to be genuinely threatened and kept a several-point cushion between themselves and the Tigers most of the way.
There was a little bit of action at 23-17 (advantage Southwest).
A long point there with diving saves and blocks aplenty may well have been the best of the night, but it was a little late to stoke the boiler. It was all over just a couple of minutes later. NOTES:
• The Eagles tried out a new libero in this one, sophomore Jaelyn Niebla. She didn’t receive too much floor time, being used mostly as a change of pace player, but seemed to acquit herself well in limited minutes.
• Southwest’s 2018 record is now 1910 overall and 10-1 in league play. They have just two regular season matches remaining. Before that, however, they will be playing in the Monte Vista Tournament being held in Spring Valley this weekend.
• Imperial’s loss gives it a record of 16-11 (5-5 IVL). The Tigers also have two matches before the end of the regular season. The next one will be next Tuesday, against the Brawley Wildcats at home.