After finishing last season in 3rd place in the Mission Division, going 18-5 overall, and missing the playoffs by a point, the boys’ volleyball team has something to prove.
The boys feel confident since the majority of the team is back. The roster for this year’s varsity volleyball contains 9 players – senior Diego Ramirez; juniors Jesus “Chuy” Acevedo, Jonathan Murillo, Jeremiah Baloca, and Hector Araujo; and sophomores Angel Mejia, Leonardo Nava-Sanchez, Jomax Mendoza and Leonel Osorio. The captains this year are Acevedo, Murillo, and Mejia. “They show commitment,” Coach Jose Ramos said. “Everyone has a role, but they are some of the players that step up.”
The league had a makeover, with Pacific Collegiate, Kirby, and Watsonville moving down from the Gabilan, and Seaside moving up to the Gabilan. Ramos believes the boys are all good together as a team and will do just fine. “These guys have a strong chemistry together as a team,” Ramos said. “They’ve grown up together since we do off seasons together, so the chemistry and the bond as teenagers is strong.”
As for the players, they feel they have room for improvement. “We tend to drop to the opposite team’s level if they’re not very good,” Mendoza said. “So we either drop down or try and manage to keep up if they’re good. It’s a bad habit but we settle.”
Through 14 games, the team is 12-2, and 5-0 in league. Mejia feels confident about what the season holds for his team. “When the time comes and we get more experience as a team we can [accomplish] winning league,” he said.
The team took a big step toward the league title with a 3-0 sweep of 2nd place Rancho San Juan, and are dominating their opponents. The Trojans have not dropped a set in the first 5 games.
