Golden Valley Grizzlies boys’ volleyball had some minor hiccups but still triumphed in Tuesday’s home non-league match with the Eastside Lions.
The Grizzlies played solid defense, had a balanced attack and served well to close the game after a slow start in their home opener.
Golden Valley won the match with scores of 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18.
Serving errors by the Grizzlies (3-1) tallied up 15 points for the Lions (0-1) in the first two sets alone. Eastside was able to tie the match 1-1 in the second game after some sloppy play on the Golden Valley side. Lions junior Damion Sanchez added all three of his aces in the second set.
Eastside then sparked a 5-0 run in the third game, with middle blocker Isaiah Parker serving and libero Jesus Leal out of the game. Parker added two aces in the set with a trick floater serve and also led the Lions with three blocks.
USC commit Nick Waldron took over the match in the fourth set for Golden Valley. Waldron was the only player to reach five kills in a single set after reaching the mark in the fourth.
Even with such a special talent in the middle, Grizzlies coach Sam Hand was still pleased with his offense that had four Grizzlies with over nine kills.
“We have a D-1 commit and he’s a monster in the middle,” said Hand. “That guy should be making everyone else’s job easier. I want him to make our other hitters look good. If he can get the first kill, then everyone can rally around that and it opens up the net like crazy. I still want him to lead and put most of the kills down, but we’ve got to pass the ball. That feeds him more.”
Waldron torched the Lions’ defense in the final set and then sealed the victory with a match-point block. The junior finished the game with 11 kills and three blocks.
The Grizzlies were in trouble in the third set and nearly went down 2-1 in the match. Senior Alex Bonfiglio sparked a resurgent 6-0 run from the end line. Bonfiglio added four aces in the run, after struggling with his serve earlier in the match.
The Grizzlies are off to a solid start to the 2024 season. The team returned starters from every position with the exception of two big outside hitter spots.
Bonfiglio, one of the outside hitters, tallied nine kills, while Abel Nieto matched Waldron with 11.
The Grizzlies passed well for the most part. Hand rotated in sophomore libero Luke Talabong for the third and fourth sets, getting the underclassmen some playing time and senior Alonso Dominguez a breather.
“I’m pretty blessed with young talent,” Hand said. “Luke Talabong, a sophomore libero, comes in and he has so much range, he can touch everything. We want to work on his quality of receive a little bit but other than that, he just can’t miss a ball. And then Alonso is a returning senior, just a second-year volleyball player, no club, but he has such an eye for his hitting and defense. He is just really hard to get around.”
Another rotation player stepping up was setter Lem Espejo. The setter ran the offense well, with some minor serve receive issues, and showcased that the team was in good hands in the absence of starting setter Oliver Botton.
“We have so many talented players that are coming back from successful club teams,” Hand said. “Forcing the chemistry to happen this fast has been a little bit difficult. Good players next to good players should equal good volleyball but it’s not that simple. We’re just finding a rhythm.”
The Grizzlies have a long road ahead of them with hopefully another postseason berth on the horizon.
Golden Valley finished third in the Foothill League with a record of 21-8, 8-4, last season and reached the playoffs.
“I don’t have any numbers-based or results-based goals,” Hand said. “I just want all these guys to see their potential and want to see them play the best volleyball they’ve played yet. If any of them are stagnating or regressing, God help me, something’s not right. All of them should just be improving their aggression, level of play, their intensity all season long. So as long as every single guy sees noticeable growth, that’s what I want most.”
“I obviously think we have potential to finish top three again, but it’s not more important than these guys seeing their full growth.”
The Grizzlies return home on Friday to host the Lakeview Charter Lions at 4:15 p.m.
