El Camino knocks off Golden Valley in playoffs
Once the El Camino High boys volleyball team got rolling, Golden Valley had a tough time slowing them down.
The Eagles had a big height advantage and it made it tough for the Cougars hitters to hit around them. Golden Valley didn’t have an answer for El Camino’s Freddy Batiratu and Griffin Walters as the seventh-seeded Eagles knocked off No. 2 Golden Valley 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinals at Cougar Arena on Thursday night.
“One of our strategies was to come out and hit them hard,” said Eagles coach Travor Meyer, whose team improves to 13-7 and will face No. 3 Rio Americano in the semifinals on Tuesday. “We wanted to make them a little gun shy and then mix it up.”
The high-flying Batiratu finished with 24 kills as the Eagles set him up all over the court.
The Cougars (28-7) came out strong in the first game and dictated the tempo. Jim Chang (11 kills) and Westin Bylsma ( two blocks and two aces) each had three kills apiece in the first game as Golden Valley opened up a 15-9 lead early and cruised to a 1-0 lead.
However, the Eagles seized momentum in the second game and the Cougars struggled to recapture their swagger. Golden Valley found itself working from behind in the final three games.
“Our inexperience showed,” said Golden Valley coach Scott Livesay. “It wasn’t so much that we stopped doing the things we were doing. We just weren’t doing them as frequently. We were giving away a few points here and there in each game. You just can’t spot the other team points and then start playing.”
El Camino jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second game. Livesay became so frustrated he struck his clipboard at one point during the second game.
Golden Valley fought its way back into the game and tied El Camino at 20-all after a kill by Brian Livesay, who turned in a strong all-around game with 12 kills, two blocks, 14 digs and two aces.
The Eagles played stronger down the stretch to win 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1.
“There was some adjustments needed after that first game,” Meyer said. “Our boys had to stay focused and not let the other team dictate the pace. We had to reel them in. Sometimes they can get lackadaisical when the pace is slow. They let their heads wander.”
El Camino opened with a 4-1 lead in the third game. Golden Valley pulled to within 10-9, but the Eagles surged ahead with a 9-1 run to open up a 19-10 lead.
The Eagles scored the first six points of game three. The Cougars got back in the match, but El Camino used another run to open up a 17-12 lead.
“Each timeout I’d tell our guys, ‘Yes, we’re behind but we can do this.’ We did it about four or five times,” Scott Livesay said. “The only problem is we didn’t do it at the end. It was like we would weather the storm to get back in the match, but we just faced too many storms.”
Despite the playoff loss it was still a great first year for the Golden Valley boys volleyball program, winning a Central California Conference championship and recording 28 wins.
“We need this experience so our guys know what happen if you don’t play with that killer instinct every play,” Scott Livesay said. “Things can get out of hand when you don’t have that tight grip. But I’m happy with the season overall. Going into this season I thought we could make the semifinals. We finished one win short of that. I can’t call it a bad year even though it left a bad taste in our mouths.”
Christian Brothers 3, Stone Ridge Christian 0 in Sacramento – Second-seeded Christian Brothers swept the Knights 25-15, 25-20, 25-15 to end SRC’s playoff run in Division III. Jonathan Collazo led Stone Ridge Christian with 11 kills and Davis Greenwood added nine kills.
This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 10:04 PM with the headline "El Camino knocks off Golden Valley in playoffs."