The McCurdy volleyball team, while lacking size on the roster, had a creative solution for practices.
McCurdy coach Jojo Sanchez brought in boys from the football team and through the school to help in practice as blockers and hitters while hitting the ball hard and adding speed.
“It helps them judge how to take hits and digs,” Sanchez said. “And not be afraid of that big person coming up to hit the ball, or when they’re going up to spike the ball … They play a lot faster, and we don’t have that.”
Escalante (15-2, 5-0 in district) took down McCurdy (2-11, 0-5) in straight sets, 25-14, 25-15, 25-11, extending the Bobcats’ losing streak to nine matches. But Sanchez is encouraged by the play of their youngest players, including freshman Kaylee Martinez and eighth-grader Marisol Serna.
“I think they’re actually probably our best contributors,” Sanchez said. “They bring the liveliness to the team, they create a good camaraderie for the team. I really enjoy having the little ones with us.”
Sanchez said the team needs to work on communication during points to improve and snap the losing streak, while the communication is great in practice.
“They’ve come such a long ways,” Sanchez said. “We’ve lost, and I know that we’ve lost almost every game. But if you were to see where they were, to where they are now, and just appreciate and continue to grow.”
Escalante won the first five points of the match and cruised through most of the day. The only time they ran into trouble was midway through the second set, when the Bobcats fought to within a point at 13-12, but Escalante closed out on a 12-3 run.
Brycelyn Martinez led the Lobos with 15 kills, and Emma Maestas had 22 assists. Katelyn Hinds had five assists while taking over as setter for part of the third set.
The Lobos remain undefeated in the district for the second straight season while they cruise through all local opponents.
“We’re finally playing some volleyball,” Escalante coach Kathleen Salazar-Valdez said. “I see two different teams, for the Lobos. I have the fast tempo, know how to rock it, to the slower tempo. I need to make sure the slow tempo goes into the faster tempo game for us.”
Even in matches where the Lobos win every set by 10 or more points, Salazar-Valdez can still expect more.
“Not disrespecting no one at all, but just where my team has been playing, I expected a little faster run for us, and less errors,” she said. “A win’s a win, in district I don’t take no one lightly.”
For McCurdy, Paola Gonzales logged four assists, while Allison Cantrell and Martinez had three kills each.
The McCurdy junior varsity team showed some strength, though ultimately lost a hotly contested match to Escalante 25-23, 32-30.
“We’ve really come a long ways as a program, so I’m actually very, very excited,” Sanchez said. “Are we where we want to be? Absolutely not. But, it’s definitely heading that way.”