Earlier this year, Denair High head volleyball coach Christy North didn’t quite know what to expect as she prepared for the first full season of boys volleyball. Whatever expectations she had, her team blew them out of the water, punching a ticket to the playoffs after winning their last regular season match 3-1 against Orestimba High.
“From the moment they stepped on the court and before they even earned the game, I mean, they’re still learning, they told me, ‘We’re going to make playoffs.’ Their confidence has impressed me so much, and I guess they proved it,” said North.
The entire team is made up of a group familiar with athletics success, as they are all members of the Denair High soccer team that have won back-to-back CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championships. The athleticism displayed on the soccer pitch translated easily to the volleyball court, and it was on full display on Tuesday night.
The Coyotes won their match in four sets over the Warriors. They opened the match with a dominant 25-14 set win before squeezing out a 25-20 victory in set two. Set three saw them lose by a 25-21 score, but they quickly rebounded to dominate the fourth and final set 25-16.
“Like I keep saying, these boys are still learning, but they have come so far, and not only have their knowledge of the game and their skills improved, but they’re passionate about this sport,” North said.
Passion may be an understatement. Even when losing the third set, the Coyotes bench was loud and just overall having a great time.
“Man, these are my teammates in soccer and they’re my friends even outside of it, so getting to spend more time with them and grow with them as a team in volleyball is awesome,” said senior Tim Hernandez.
Prior to the season, Hernandez was the only player with experience playing volleyball, having played competitively overseas in Cambodia. North said that if not for him convincing his friends like Angel Sanchez from the soccer team to join, they would have been without a team for the second straight year. It’s the same leadership that has earned Hernandez the title as team captain, and aside from his attitude, it’s his skill that has set him apart.
On the year, Hernandez leads the team in kills by a long mile with 46. The next closest is Nico Zavala with 27. On Tuesday, he led the team again with 14 more kills. Despite the dominance, Hernandez gives all the accolades to his teammates, including Emanuel Renteria, who leads the team in assists (40) and digs (14). Renteria has 15 more assists against Orestimba.
The match win improves the Coyotes’ overall record to 6-5 and their Southern League record to 4-2, finishing the regular season in second place only behind the 5-0 Ripon Christian Knights.
Next up for the Coyotes are the playoffs, which kick off on Tuesday. The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section is expected to release playoff brackets on Friday.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be quite honest,” said North. “I really don’t know what to expect since we have no clue who we’re playing, where we’re playing, and even when we do know, we don’t really know what to expect from those teams because they don’t have a long history either and we don’t have that history with them. But we’re all really excited and we can’t wait.”
