And the biggest defender, embarrassingly for the Wolf
Pack, was one of the Monarchs' smallest players in setter
FELIPE OROZCO. The 5-foot-10 setter was credited with
four blocks, part of more than a dozen by the Monarchs
in sweeping West Hills, 25-6, 25-9, 25-16. Orozco also
registered 11 assists.
The backcourt also collected a series of pick-ups, as
RAUL CONTRERAS recorded 12 digs, JESSE VELARDE made 11
digs, and BRANDON TILLETT had 9.
At the net, SHAMAR BARNES finished with six kills and
seven blocks.
"We were pretty active around the net," said
Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. "And we were covering
well and limited our mistakes."
The Monarchs, coming off a victory in their own tournament
over the weekend, are 7-0 this season. It was the season
opener for West Hills (0-1).
Monte Vista Varsity Classic
Sat., Mar. 6 Championship
Monte Vista df. The Bishop's, 25-15, 18-25, 15-12. Semifinals
Monte Vista df. Coronado, 25-21, 25-18.
The Bishop's df. Montgomery, 25-19, 25-19. Quarterfinals
Monte Vista df. Christian, 25-23, 25-13.
Coronado df. Hoover, 25-16, 12-25, 16-14.
Montgomery df. Morse, 25-21, 25-21.
The Bishop's df. El Camino, 25-14, 25-15.
Monarchs crown The Bishop's
claim season-oepning tournament
"The team grew up a lot as the tournament went
on," said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. "They
quit trying to be heroes and win it by themselves, Once
we started communicating and did team stuff, we were
alright.
With only a handful of strong Division III programs
in the San Diego Section, the Monarchs received an early
look at their top competitors for the SDCIF playoffs.
" University City and Montgomery are both in D-3,
just like us," added Skibbe. "So to beat them
both was special, especially UC, since they put us out
of the playoffs last year."
Monte Vista swept the Centurions to straight sets to
complete pool play without dropping a game, then downed
Christian in the quarterfinals of the Gold (championship)
Bracket.
In the final four, the Monarchs needed to face a pair
of teams which both came out of the strongest of the
four pools, which played at The Fleet Center in La Jolla
, yet captured both to win the 16-team tournament.
First, Monte Vista pasted Coronado, 25-21, 25-18, then
went three sets to defeat The Bishop's School.
"We needed to have a good start against Bishop's,
which is a very good program," added the coach.
"And it wasn't just one guy -- the group did a
great job playing defense and let the ball take care
of itself because we're bigger and more athletic than
last year."
"What was key wasn't on spikes, but when there
was a funny ball on shanks and miss-hits. We were able
to play the ball clean and make a play."
Monte Vista opens Grossmont Conference Tournament play
Monday (Mar. 8) at West Hills, then hosts St. Augustine
in non-league action on Tuesday (Mar. 9). Both start
at 6 p.m.
Pool Play, Fri.-Sat., Mar. 5-6
Group A (At Monte Vista)
Hoover df. El Camino, 25-20, 25-19.
Hoover df. Pt. Loma, 25-16, 25-13.
Point Loma df. Mount Miguel, 25-18, 25-18.
El Camino df. Mount Miguel, 25-12, 25-19.
El Camino df. Point Loma, 25-23, 28-26.
Hoover df. Mount Miguel Top 2: El Camino, Hoover. Consolation: Mount Miguel, Point Loma.
Group C (At Monte Vista)
Monte Vista df. Orange Glen, 25-21, 25-14.
Montgomery df. University City, 25-19, 25-19.
Monte Vista df. Montgomery, 27-25, 17-25, 15-13.
University City df. Orange Glen, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12.
Monte Vista df. University City
Montgomery df. Orange Glen Top 2: Monte Vista, Montgomery. Consolation: Orange Glen, University City
Group B (At El Cajon Valley)
Top 2: Christian, Morse. Consolation: El Cajon Valley, SD-Southwest.
Group D (At The Fleet Center,
La Jolla) Top 2: The Bishop's, Coronado. Consolation: El Capitan, Mater Dei Catholic.
Spike'd
hair not necessary El Cap seeks boys VB coach
Varsity tournaments ($275 entry fee each) will be held
March 5-6 and April 23-24, while junior varsity events
($225 per team per event) are slated for March 12-13
and April 30-May 1. There are early-bird and multi-team
discounts available.
For further information, contact Monarchs head coach
Michael Skibbe by
email or call (619) 741-9000 or (619) 807-3235.
