Boys Volleyball: His time finally here, Griggs leads Eastside past Lancaster
April 1, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — A talented sophomore in a team stacked with experienced seniors, Zane Griggs was told to wait for his turn by way of a demotion to junior varsity last year.
He could have whined and pouted. Few could have blamed him.
"I was OK with that," Griggs said.
Thanks in great part to the now-junior, who powered his way to 21 kills during Wednesday's 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Lancaster, so are the 2015 Lions.
A season after an all-senior team led Eastside to a second consecutive Golden League championship, the new-look Lions look as dominant as their predecessors, improving to 4-0 in league play and all but putting to rest any notion that they might be in rebuilding mode.
At the center of the Lions' latest tale of success was Griggs, a once-too-young, 6-foot-7 middle blocker who racked up nine kills in the deciding third frame.
"It started getting close there for a second," Griggs said. "We had to start focusing."
Kept at bay for most of the night, Lancaster (7-8, 2-2 GL) rose in the third set, rallying from an early seven-point deficit to tie the game up at 15-15.
It was the first time all night the fired up Eagles weren't behind in the score that late into a frame.
"We dug ourselves out of a hole," said Lancaster senior Brian McCormick, who led the Eagles with 10 kills.
Griggs and the Lions (7-3, 4-0), however, had an answer. The junior bullied down five kills during a subsequent 6-0 run that put Eastside, which has yet to lose a set in league play, back in control.
"You got to keep playing the people that are hot," Eastside head coach Francis Bosque said.
Helping carry the offensive load for the Lions were Brandon Reeder and Seth Sandoval, who each had four kills, and Salvador Gomez with three.
Setter Briant Hernandez, another junior who shared Griggs' JV journey last season, picked up two kills.
For Lancaster, junior Ausar Cato had six kills, Jordan Green recorded four and Alex Gugler added two.
Trailing for much of the game, the Eagles found silver linings throughout, keenly cheering themselves after every positive play regardless of the size of the deficit.
"When we dig ourselves up and cheer, we spike inspiration for our whole team," McCormick said. "That's when our whole team gets together, when our errors minimize and we start playing like a team."
Self-encouragement abounding, Lancaster made one final push, drawing within 24-22 in the final frame.
A Reeder kill would end matters in favor of the Lions, but the Eagles felt some sense of accomplishment.
"If you look at how we started and how we ended, I think we finished a better team than how we started," Lancaster coach Alfredo Garcia said.
Unfortunately for Lancaster, so did Griggs.
"We got blocks, we got hands on balls, we dug him, he got his kills," Garcia said. "He's a great player. I've seen him play since he was a freshman. Fact of the matter is it doesn't matter who we play, we only focus on ourselves.
"Our jobs as coaches is to teach the kids the game, teach them how to fight through the diffcult times."
On Wednesday night, a lot of those came due to a sizable blonde forcefully smacking down volleyball after volleyball tossed his way.
Instead of kicking up a fuss in the face of what he could have seen as trying moments, he got ready for his time, which has finally come.
"It prepared me," Griggs said.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — A talented sophomore in a team stacked with experienced seniors, Zane Griggs was told to wait for his turn by way of a demotion to junior varsity last year.
He could have whined and pouted. Few could have blamed him.
"I was OK with that," Griggs said.
Thanks in great part to the now-junior, who powered his way to 21 kills during Wednesday's 25-12, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Lancaster, so are the 2015 Lions.
A season after an all-senior team led Eastside to a second consecutive Golden League championship, the new-look Lions look as dominant as their predecessors, improving to 4-0 in league play and all but putting to rest any notion that they might be in rebuilding mode.
At the center of the Lions' latest tale of success was Griggs, a once-too-young, 6-foot-7 middle blocker who racked up nine kills in the deciding third frame.
"It started getting close there for a second," Griggs said. "We had to start focusing."
Kept at bay for most of the night, Lancaster (7-8, 2-2 GL) rose in the third set, rallying from an early seven-point deficit to tie the game up at 15-15.
It was the first time all night the fired up Eagles weren't behind in the score that late into a frame.
"We dug ourselves out of a hole," said Lancaster senior Brian McCormick, who led the Eagles with 10 kills.
Griggs and the Lions (7-3, 4-0), however, had an answer. The junior bullied down five kills during a subsequent 6-0 run that put Eastside, which has yet to lose a set in league play, back in control.
"You got to keep playing the people that are hot," Eastside head coach Francis Bosque said.
Helping carry the offensive load for the Lions were Brandon Reeder and Seth Sandoval, who each had four kills, and Salvador Gomez with three.
Setter Briant Hernandez, another junior who shared Griggs' JV journey last season, picked up two kills.
For Lancaster, junior Ausar Cato had six kills, Jordan Green recorded four and Alex Gugler added two.
Trailing for much of the game, the Eagles found silver linings throughout, keenly cheering themselves after every positive play regardless of the size of the deficit.
"When we dig ourselves up and cheer, we spike inspiration for our whole team," McCormick said. "That's when our whole team gets together, when our errors minimize and we start playing like a team."
Self-encouragement abounding, Lancaster made one final push, drawing within 24-22 in the final frame.
A Reeder kill would end matters in favor of the Lions, but the Eagles felt some sense of accomplishment.
"If you look at how we started and how we ended, I think we finished a better team than how we started," Lancaster coach Alfredo Garcia said.
Unfortunately for Lancaster, so did Griggs.
"We got blocks, we got hands on balls, we dug him, he got his kills," Garcia said. "He's a great player. I've seen him play since he was a freshman. Fact of the matter is it doesn't matter who we play, we only focus on ourselves.
"Our jobs as coaches is to teach the kids the game, teach them how to fight through the diffcult times."
On Wednesday night, a lot of those came due to a sizable blonde forcefully smacking down volleyball after volleyball tossed his way.
Instead of kicking up a fuss in the face of what he could have seen as trying moments, he got ready for his time, which has finally come.
"It prepared me," Griggs said.