Colts Volleyball Runs Into Plainview Roadblock

The Calhoun volleyball team was given a tough assignment yesterday having to square off against last year's Conference 1-A champions, the Plainview JFK Hawks.

The visiting Hawks showed exactly why they are the defending champs, as they were able to sweep the Colts, 3-0.

The Colts were unable to keep up with the Hawks big men, as Greg Rankel had eight kills and Tommy Giosa had four to go along with three aces, two assists, and five digs.

Calhoun coach Heather Glick tried to focus on the positives of her team's performance.

"We passed really well," Glick said. "Which is something we haven't been doing consistently. It was difficult for us to hit well because their block was fairly large and it was hard for us to get around it. What they do really well is they adjust to everything, which we didn't do. We don't have enough experience to do that, but it'll come."

The Hawks (3-1) started strong right from the very first point, jumping out to an early 11-3 lead in game one, causing Glick to call an early timeout. The Hawks continued to pile it on and extended their lead to 21-7.  However, after a kill by Jacob Greenberg, the Colts went on a miniature run and won four consecutive points behind server Michael Manticoff. They lost the game 25-12, but ended on a high note.

The Colts (0-3) carried the momentum into game two and did not allow the Hawks to get off to another fast start. Kenny Leon had two early kills for Calhoun to move his team within two points at 11-9.

It wouldn't stay close for long though, as the Hawks scored six straight points to make it 17-11. Alex Morra got a kill for Calhoun to end the run, but the Hawks pulled away after that and won the game 25-15 after Jordan Lefkowitz set his teammate up for a game-ending kill.

 "We were successful because we played as a team," Lefkowitz said. "We served really well, and [Calhoun] couldn't really control the ball which led to us getting a lot of free balls that we capitalized on."

It was more of the same in game three. Greenberg got a couple early kills for Calhoun, but the Hawks continued their strong play.  After a kill by Matt Benjamin, Plainview was up 17-8.

Despite being down, the Colts kept fighting until very last play. Faced with match point, the two teams had a long rally that saw Brian Grambo dive for a ball to keep the play alive for the Colts, who eventually won the point. The game ended on the next play, however, as the Hawks took the final game, 25-14.

Plainview coach Russi Villalta credited her team's performance to the great camaraderie that they have on the court.

"It's all about teamwork," Villalta said. "They're great communicators and I can put anybody on the court and they just gel into one another. I'm very happy with what they did."

Although disappointed with her team's performance, Glick was looking at the big picture after the game.

"This is my second year as coach and I'm trying to build something that I know is going to take a while," Glick said. "Last year we made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since about 1998. So I feel like we still have ways to go, but we're improving and generating more interest in the program."

The Colts will be back on the court today at 4:30 p.m. when they host Oceanside.