Eagles pick up key IVL win vs. Bulldogs
EL CENTRO — A major Imperial Valley League clash between the Southwest and Calexico volleyball teams Thursday night ended in the Eagles’ favor, as they prevailed over four sets (25-11, 25-17, 22-25, 25-13).
The contest seemed to confirm the 2019 title race as something of a Wild Wild West with its backand-forth action, but ultimately it resulted in the Bulldogs dropping their second straight contest to a league favorite.
Southwest’s championship stock had something of a bumpy ride over the course of the night.
If somebody had started hawking shares before the first point, they would’ve found buyers.
The Eagles looked crisp during warmups, flashing two viable setters in Madeline Jungers and Mariana Cantu to go with a troika of heavy hitters in Andrea Aguilar, Mary Abatti and Skye Rivas.
Once the first set got underway the price of those shares would’ve spiked dramatically.
Everything went Southwest’s way from the jump, leaving them looking head-and-shoulders above a talented Calexico squad that gave Brawley more than they wanted on Tuesday (albeit in a losing effort).
The Eagles appeared to be playing in slow motion, identifying the weak spots in the Bulldog defense and setting the ball down there with a minimum of muss and/or fuss.
Points came fast and free on a variety of finishes — a one-handed block by Ketziah Kaiser, a two-handed push by Aguilar, a hard slam by Abatti — whatever it took.
Things never felt all that close, and they weren’t. The Bulldogs never led.
Set No. 2 went differently, tamping down hard on the idea that the Eagles were unstoppable.
Southwest still won, but the Bulldogs started to make them play, using their unpredictability to fluster the Eagles and force errors.
This trend was exacerbated in the third set, a loose and rambling affair that played right into Calexico’s strengths.
The Bulldogs seized the initiative early on and forced the Eagles to be reactive, rather than proactive. This led to more errors, greatly buoying Calexico’s confidence.
Nataly Martinez exhibited her usual moxie, going head-over-heels on digs so often that one wonders if she practices it.
Her saves and sets fed teammates like Yady Zavala — who by rights ought to have torn the cover off the ball at least once, as hard as she was hitting — Yasmin Sanchez and Lyah Macias.
Forced into a fourth set, the Eagles were able to regroup for a win, but they owed almost as much to errors from a winded Calexico side as they did to their own execution.
There were some highlight-reel plays from Jungers, Abatti and Aguilar, but on the whole it was apparent that the Eagles (3-0 IVL) still have some tightening up to do before they head to Brawley on Tuesday.
Calexico’s (2-2 IVL) next league match is also on Tuesday, at home vs. Imperial.
Statistically, Aguilar (14), Abatti (12) and Jungers (10) all had double-digit kills for the victors. Jungers and Aguilar actually had great “do-everything” lines, with Jungers pacing the team in assists with 26 and also registering 27 digs, while Aguilar had 19 digs of her own.