Despite losing its last three league matches, the San Benito High girls volleyball team was delivered some good news on Saturday when it was awarded the No. 6 seed in this week's Central Coast Section Girls Volleyball Championships.
At 19-17 overall, the Lady Balers will receive a first-round bye and won't open the Division I tournament until Saturday, when they will be up against No. 3 Evergreen Valley (22-7) after more than a week off.
"They're a good, solid team and they will be a good challenge," said San Benito head coach Dean Askanas, whose team fell to the Cougars earlier this season.
"I think we're getting our groove back at the right time here and we should be in good shape."
The Lady Balers, who finished with a 6-6 mark in the TCAL, hit a mid-season slump with losses to Salinas and Gilroy, the latter of which had not defeated San Benito since the TCALs inception.
At Spikefest II, however, where the Lady Balers compiled a 3-2 mark, Askanas said he saw signs of progress in the team's final match against Crystal Springs Uplands - an easy two-game win - while San Benito managed to put up a fight in its final regular season match against Notre Dame last week.
The Lady Balers took the first set against the league champion Spirits before falling in four.
"I think we are on the upswing again," Askanas said. "I think we're playing well again. I think we've regained our confidence and I think we're doing it at the right time."
Saturday's match with Evergreen Valley marks the 12th consecutive year the Lady Balers have qualified to the postseason.
The match's time and location isn't expected to be announced until after Wednesday's first round of games, however, which include match-ups between No. 10 Watsonville (20-11) and No. 7 Gilroy (15-10), as well as No. 9 Monta Vista (19-12) and No. 8 Gunn (17-22).
San Benito's match with Evergreen Valley, meanwhile, will be the second time the two teams have met up this season. The Lady Balers visited the San Jose school on Sept. 15, and the Cougars delivered a four-game victory (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21).
Led by outside hitter Inanna Eshoo and setter Samantha Feril, as well as senior opposite Trisha Dittbenner, the league champion Cougars compiled a 12-2 record in the Mount Hamilton Division this season.
"They have a good outside hitter who can play all the way around," Askanas said of Eshoo. "She can hit the ball anywhere and she can hit with power."
Of Feril, Askanas called the senior setter "tricky," as she often opts for the dump shot.
"They're a good defensive team and they pass well," the head coach added.
Last year, as the No. 4 seed, San Benito advanced to the CCS semifinals before losing in four games to Salinas, while then-No. 3 Evergreen Valley advanced to the semifinals before losing to the eventual D-I champion, Homestead.
Homestead failed to qualify this year, while Salinas (24-4) earned the No. 1 seed. Menlo-Atherton (19-7) was awarded the No. 2 seed, while No. 4 North Salinas (16-16) and No. 5 Carlmont (20-13) round out the Division I bracket.
"I'm pleased with our draw," Askanas said. "We've just got to show up and play now."
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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The Score: Baler football and boys and girls water polo
