Sports

The Mustangs Trample the Wildcatz!

by Elizabeth McCuistion October 10, 2022October 13, 2022

By: Elizabth McCuistion

On October 6, 2022, Mustang volleyball faced off against cross town rival Watsonville High for their homecoming game. Previously, Monte Vista had swept Watsonville in the catz’s own den. However, the Wildcatz finished higher than the Mustangs at the Watsonville high tournament and after suffering their first in league loss to King City, who was undefeated in league, varsity volleyball sought to rebound with a vengeance. Moreover, many mvc students showed up to witness the firework show after the series of electric volleyball games during the homecoming rally. Entering the gym to their customary music and lit only by a row of bright blue lights, the mustangs came out hot in the first set. Co-Captain outside hitter and senior Isa Madrigal had 7 kills in just the first set. However, at the end of the set Watsonville’s star player and middle hitter, Kelani, blocked Isa and proceeded to point at her and make a head top gesture, which according to Urban Dictionary, references,

“when you catch over somebody in football and you catch the ball over their head” (Bezznz, 2).

Basically, the Wildcat middle blocker was telling Isa that I’m taller and better than you are. If anything riled the crowd up, that did. For the rest of the match, every time the Mustangs scored a point, the student section stood up and made the head top gesture. Rolling through the Wildcatz, the Mustangs won the second set 25-13 and the third set 25-23. During the match, Outside Hitter Elizabeth McCuistion had 10 kills and 3 aces while Isa had 13 kills and 8 aces. In an interview after the game, Isa stated,

“The game was a great success for us, coming back from a loss and being hungry for the win was evident. From the energy, to the trust we had in each other we just clicked so well. I think the crowd made a big impact on the win and made it that much more special. I’m so happy with the perseverance of our team and I’m beyond excited to see how the rest of our season goes.”

Additionally, starting sophomore opposite stated,

“I think our game against Watsonville really displayed how well we work as a team and our improvement since the beginning of the season. Our serves were on fire and it really felt like we were being intentional with everything we did. Moving forward, I’m excited to continue pursuing our team goals to be the best we can be at the highest level. Notably, our student section last night was adding to our energy with their united cheers and chants. A final thanks to our Coach, Natalie Picone because she always believes in us and brought us to where we are now.”

Currently, the Mustangs are 11-10 after suffering a tough loss to Aptos on Saturday. In order to qualify for CCS, they need to stay above .500 or beat out King City for the mission division league title. Keeping the Mustangs’ hopes alive for the title, King City lost last Thursday at Pacific Grove. Thus, in order to win the league the Mustangs must win all of their next games, including Monterey, Stevenson, North Salinas, Pacific Grove, and for Senior night, King City. Despite the task, the Mustangs are hungry and ready, “to leave it all on the court” as Coach Picone says. For this upcoming week, the Mustangs have two home games. On Wednesday, they play Monterey High at 6pm. For Friday’s 6pm game against Stevenson, there will be a pink out and a fundraiser for breast cancer where all the proceeds will be donated to the Katz resource center in Santa Cruz. All photos used are courtesy of Peter Miao.