Stockdale rallies from 2 down to shock Clovis
| Tuesday, Nov 10 2009 09:49 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Nov 10 2009 09:49 PM
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Michael Fagans / The Californian Stockdale's Alex Collatz successfully digs a Clovis attack during their first round playoff game at Stockdale on Tuesday night in Bakersfield.
Michael Fagans / The Californian Stockdale's Gabby Nadal serve receives for the Mustangs as teammate Stephanie Degeare cheers her on during their first round playoff game against Clovis at Stockdale on Tuesday night in Bakersfield.
Her team down two games and already behind in the third, Stockdale volleyball coach Maria Collatz did the only thing she thought she could.
She shrugged.
"I did; I admit it," she said later Tuesday. "I shrugged my shoulders and said, 'Girls, I keep saying the same things. You've heard it all. But you've got to go do it.'"
Apparently, those were the magic words. Playing much looser, the Mustangs came back in Game 3 and then won Games 4 and 5 to stun Clovis High at home in the first round of the Central Section Division I playoffs, 24-26, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11.
"That third game, things just turned around," Collatz said. "I think they decided to have fun and stop making errors."
The fifth game had its own comeback, with Stockdale erasing a 7-2 deficit with an 11-1 run.
"I definitely don't teach that," Collatz said.
Gabby Nadal made 18 kills for the Mustangs, and Stephanie DeGeare had 12 kills and six blocks. Giana Olivieri had 20 digs.
The victory sends No. 8 seed Stockdale (17-13-2) to a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Clovis-Buchanan, which won three straight section titles from 2005-07.
"We'll go up there and have a good old time," Collatz said.
That strategy worked wonders in the first round. Stockdale fell behind by as many as seven points in the first game before staging a rally to even the score at 24. But Clovis (22-17) put down two straight kills to finish things off.
The second game was much the same, minus the Stockdale surge. Karah Mitchell had 11 kills through two games for the Cougars; she finished the match with 20. Jenna Prandini added 16.
The match turned with Clovis up 5-1 in the third set. A couple of Cougars errors led to a couple of Stockdale kills, and before long, it was the Mustangs who held a lead.
"We turned a corner there," Collatz said. "The pressure was off because we had a lead for once."
