Stallions strong in rivalry sweep
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Ruben Jaimez rises up to get a hit by the block of Madera’s Gerardo Alavez during the Stallions’ three-set win Tuesday over the Coyotes.
The Madera South Stallions boys volleyball team has been playing at a high level for the past two years and battling with Div. I teams while the Madera Coyotes were winning back-to-back Div. II Central Section Championships and the Div. III NorCal State Championship.
The Stallions were moved to Div. II this season with the Coyotes and showed they were the team to beat with a dominating three-set sweep over their rivals Tuesday in Joe Flores Gym to open County/Metro Athletic Conference play. Madera South outscored the Coyotes 75-35 in the match.
“We plan to start fast and finish every year,” Madera South head coach Steve Guglielmana said. “We’ve just been able to perform at a high level year after year.”
Christian Sylvia led both teams with nine kills. Jared Guglielmana had five kills and setter Sebastian Moreno had five. The Stallions combined for 29 kills while the Coyotes recorded just 11.
“This has to do with the coaching staff and program reaching down to the lower levels and working with these kids for a while,” Coach Guglielmana said.
Madera Coyotes head coach Rhonda Jefferson knew that if her team had a chance it had to limit its mistakes to keep with the hard-hitting Stallions.
Unfortunately, the Coyotes had 24 unforced errors, including eight service errors. Meanwhile, the Stallions had 10 service errors, but also recorded eight aces.
The Stallions continued CMAC play against Bullard on Thursday in the tough CMAC.
Behind a Riley Maciel kill and a Madera double contact, the Stallions opened the early lead. Sylvia took control of the set. He recorded a tip kill for a side out. He combined with Adrian Alvarez for a dual block and then put down a kill for a 6-1 lead.
After an Alvarez side out kill, Guglielmana served up an ace and Ruben Jaimez put down a kill for a 10-2 lead. Sylvia and Maciel put down side out kills. Then, Jaimez got a tip kill while Moreno and Maciel combined with a dual block to open a 15-5 lead.
Madera got a tip kill from Chandler Fowler, but Moreno recorded the first of his kills with a dump for side out. A Guglielmana kill opened the lead to 21-9. Maciel put down a side out kill and Sylva slammed down an overpass for a 13-point lead.
After the Coyotes got the side out, Hunter Brown and Gerardo Alavez combined on a block. However, Jaimez got the side out with a kill for set point.
Madera South missed its next serve, but Maciel ended the set with a tip kill.
After a Sylvia kill to open the second set, Madera made three straight errors for a 4-0 Stallions’ lead. Alavez, the Madera setter, got a tip kill, but Madera South’s setter, Moreno, recorded a dump kill for a side out kill.
Guglielmana put down two kills in a four-point run for a 9-1 lead.
After two straight missed Stallions’ serves, Madera made a run. Alex Olvera-Gil recorded a solo block and Daniel Barriga served up two aces. Bryson Smith put down a kill and Madera cut the lead to 10-8.
After a missed serve, Alvarez and Sylvia combined on a dual block for a four-point lead before Brown put down a side out kill for the Coyotes.
Sylvia put down a side out kill and served up an ace to get the lead to six. Brown recorded a side out kill for the Coyotes, but a Madera mistake gave the Stallions the serve.
Another Moreno dump kill led to a three-point run and a 20-11 lead before a Fowler side out kill.
After Madera South hit out of bounds, Sylvia put down a side out kill. Joseph Chavez served up two aces and Madera hit out of bounds on set point for a 25-13 Stallions victory.
Madera didn’t help itself in the third set by recording six service errors. After the first, Chavez served up an ace and Madera made two mistakes for a 5-1 Stallions lead.
Alvarez and Sylvia combined on a dual block for the Stallions despite side out kills from Olvera-Gil and Brown.
A Coyotes’ missed serve led to two Sylvia aces and an Alvarez kill for a 13-4 Madera South lead.
Alvarez added a side out kill and Madera hit out of bounds for a 15-5 lead. After another Madera missed serve, Madera hit out of bounds twice and Jaimez served a ball that wasn’t returned for a 19-6 lead.
Despite a Madera South service error, Guglielmana recorded a side out kill. The Stallions then got kills from Moreno, Sylvia (twice) and Guglielmana to get to set point, 24-7.
Olvera-Gil put down a side out kill and Barriga aced the Stallions. However, Madera’s final missed serve of the match led to a 25-9 Madera South victory.
