Holy Family tips off volleyball season with sweep of Bell-Jeff
BURBANK — It was a quick start of the season for the Holy Family girls’ volleyball team.
Unfortunately so for Bellarmine-Jefferson, which was also playing its first match of the year.
The Gaels were dominating in the first game before holding off a Bell-Jeff push in the second game and coming on late in the third to earn a 25-12, 25-23, 25-15 sweep Thursday against the host Guards.
“There are always a little bit of nerves in your first game and I think we had some of that today,” Holy Family coach Robert Bringas said. “But I thought we were able to battle back from that and we were able to play well in that first game.
“What really showed me a lot with this team and showed me their maturity is how they fought back in that second game when it was close. We are getting people in the spots that we need them to be and this is something we needed and this is a good step for us.”
With a new coach and having only taken part in a handful of practices before Thursday’s opener, the Guards are still coming together as a team and that showed in portions of the contest against Holy Family.
“We are trying to do the things that we’ve been working on in practice and this is really the first chance we’ve had to go against six girls on the other side of the net,” Bell-Jeff coach Erick Beck said. “So there were a lot of firsts for us, seeing things in real time. I think we’ve only had eight practices, so we’re only going to get better.
“I thought that we played better progressing through the games, but [Holy Family] and their key player played well.”
Stepping up for the Gaels was Meghan Velasquez, who tallied a match-high 15 kills to go along with three aces. Teammate Michelle Barraza added four aces and Rosy Castro had three.
Holy Family began the match in dominant fashion, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. Seven of the nine points came on Bell-Jeff errors, as it committed 19 in the opening frame.
The Guards cut into the deficit and trailed by four, 13-9, after a 5-0 run was punctuated by a Claire Borot ace. But the Gaels responded with a 7-1 run to give them a 20-10 advantage following an ace by Barraza. Holy Family finished the game on a 5-2 run.
The second game was the most competitive, with Holy Family leading most of the way before an ace by Kayla Aductante gave Bell-Jeff its first lead of the frame, 19-18. The Guards could only add one to their lead late in the game, 23-21. The Gaels were able to claw their way back, scoring four straight points to snatch the victory and go up in games, 2-0.
“I thought that we worked hard and I’m pretty happy with how we did,” Velasquez said. “But I also think that we can improve on a lot of things. …Overall, I’m proud of how we did.”
Bell-Jeff took control early in the third game and enjoyed a 5-1 lead on a Holy Family attacking error. But the Gaels battled back and went in front, 8-7, on a Bell-Jeff attacking error and enjoyed a 5-0 run to increase their lead to 12-7. The Guards would get only as close as two points the rest of the way.
Dalila Rincan led the Guards with eight kills, while Borot added four.
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