Coyotes run past state opponent
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Hunter Brown (9) and Seth Valencia (5) and the rest of the Madera Coyote boys volleyball team celebrates a three-set victory over Kipp King in the quarterfinals of the CIF State Div. III NorCal playoffs in Joe Flores Gym
The Madera Coyote boys volleyball team was hoping its first-ever CIF State Playoff game wasn’t going to be anti-climactic after a Div. II Valley Championship victory the week before.
It almost was for the top seeded Coyotes in the Div. III CIF NorCal State playoffs Tuesday in Joe Flores Gym against No. 8 Kipp King-San Lorenzo, champions of the Oakland section.
However, instead of an intense match, like the Valley Championship match, the playoff game turned into a Madera rout. The Coyotes allowed just 39 points in a three-set victory Tuesday that took less than an hour to complete.
The Coyotes faced No. 4 El Camino-Sacramento, a three-set winner over No. 5 El Dorado-Placerville, on Thursday in the semifinals. The winner plays Saturday.
The Coyotes didn’t have a player with more than double-digit kills, but had four with five or more kills. The only blemish in Madera’s three-set sweep was were 10 service errors.
The Coyotes took control of the match from the start. A Marcos Ramos side out kill led to a seven-point run.
Chandler Fowler served up a pair of aces while Hunter Brown put down two kills and had a solo block for a 7-1 lead. Later, Ribhi Abdallah served up a point for a 10-3 lead.
After a Brian Garcia kill, Jose Hordaz served an ace and Fowler put down a kill to open the lead to nine.
A side out kill from Brown set up a five-point run. Fowler served up three aces in the run while Brown added another kill for a 20-9 lead.
Brown served up a point and Ali Escheik put down a kill for a 23-10 lead. Escheik put down a side out kill to get to set point.
After Madera missed its serve on set point, Kipp King gave the Coyotes the set with its fourth missed serve of the set for a 25-12 win.
Madera scored the first eight points of the second set. Brown started the scoring with a side out kill. Garcia served up two aces, Fowler had a kill and Ramos had a kill and solo block for the early lead.
Fowler quickly got the serve back with a kill. Clemente Flores put down two kills and Brown added another during a six-point run and a 14-1 lead.
Kipp King went on a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 10. Flores stopped the run with a side out kill.
Freshman Bryson Smith, a playoff call-up, recorded his first varsity kill to start a run. Jonathan Torres put down a pair of kills and Charlie Hernandez served an ace for a 22-6 lead.
After a Madera missed serve, Kipp King went on its longest run of the night, helped by Madera errors. The Coyotes hit two balls out of bounds, was called for a net violation and a rotation error to cut the lead to 23-12.
Brown stopped the run with a kill. Two points later, Kipp King gave the Coyotes the set, again, with a missed serve for a 25-14 Coyote win.
In the third set, Kipp King took its only lead of the match, leading 3-1 after an ace.
Ramos quickly got a side out kill and kills from Smith and Alex Olvera-Gill gave the Coyotes a 5-3 lead.
The Coyote had trouble extending their lead with three service errors in their next four serves.
Garcia stopped the run and the Coyotes got a kill from Ramos and a dual block from Brown and Fowler for a 13-7 lead.
After a Fowler solo block, Ramos put down a kill to help the Coyotes take a 16-8 lead.
Two Kipp King missed serves helped give the Coyotes a 20-10 lead. The Lions got an ace to cut the lead to eight before a Garcia kill. Madera couldn’t add to its lead because of another service error.
However, Kipp King hit out of bounds its next opportunity and Hordaz went back to serve and didn’t give it back to the Lions.
Kipp King was called for crossing the middle line for a point and hit out of bounds to give the Coyotes set point, 24-13. Garcia put down an emphatic kill for the final point of the match and send the Coyotes into the semifinals.
