WATSONVILLE — After spinning their wheels for nearly a decade, the Pajaro Valley Grizzlies seem to have finally found stability.
A year removed from winning the program’s first league championship, Pajaro Valley is now in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan division and is expected to be, at the very least, competitive against the best the league has to offer.
Having six sophomores on a roster of 12 means there will be a bit of an adjustment period through the early portion of league competition, but coaches Jamie and Arlene Tsuji like the potential of their squad.
“It’s a work in progress — that’s for sure — but there’s something there,” Arlene said. “They started out the season so strong, having fun, and some place along the way they lost it. Doesn’t mean we can’t get it back.”
The Grizzlies graduated last year’s MBL-Pacific division M.V.P. Rafael Betancourt and the league’s two-time Setter of the Year Ruben Garcia, but do return more than a handful of players from last season’s 20-win squad.
Outside hitter Geovanny Barajas was a first team all-league selection last season, and is the team’s only returning senior starter. Sophomore Dennar Ocampo is now the team’s setter after starring at libero as a freshman. Six-foot-2 sophomore middle blocker Esteban Fernandez is also back, and is much improved at the net. A defensive specialist last season, junior Fernando Viveros is now the team’s libero, and has stepped into the role nicely.
Pajaro Valley also returns four others, including junior outside hitter Daniel Rocha, who has completely evolved as a hitter and helped balance out the Grizzlies’ attack.
“He’s a totally different player,” Barajas said of Rocha. “His hits are just crazy in practice. He just needs to feel like he can hit in games against [the Gabilan teams]. It’s just the confidence. It’s like that with a lot of the younger guys.”
In the Gabilan, the Grizzlies will face Carmel, Palma, Salinas, Alisal, Christopher and Monterey.
Despite graduating the league’s M.V.P. in Jared McNally, Carmel is still considered the favorite to three-peat as league champ. The Padres, Central Coast Section Division II semifinalists last year, have not lost a league contest since 2015.
The Grizzlies believe if their young players can learn on the fly, they will prove they belong in the Gabilan.
“It’s up and down,” Barajas said. “I feel like the flow of the team will get a lot better as the year goes on. You should see us in practice. During the games, it’s been all me, but in practice everyone’s hitting. They just don’t have that confidence yet, because they’re still young.”
In the Pacific division, Watsonville and Monte Vista Christian will try to challenge Seaside and San Benito for the league title. Alvarez, Gilroy and Soledad are also in the league.
Watsonville opened up its league season with a sweep of Gilroy on Tuesday night, and M.V.C. fell to San Benito in four sets.
Watsonville is looking to return to the top of the league for the first time since 2016.
The Mustangs are in their third season as a program, and have their best shot at competing for the league title this spring. Senior setter and outside hitter J.P. Thrasher, a captain for the third straight year, makes the offense go, and freshman outside hitter Riland Wagner has been a nice surprise for head coach Scott Nystrom.
SCCAL
With nine of 10 players back from a team that finished third in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and advanced to the CCS semifinals, Mt. Madonna is off to its best start in recent memory.
The Hawks have already upended defending SCCAL champ Pacific Collegiate School and runner-up Aptos to jump into first place in the early season.
Mt. Madonna’s only loss so far has come against powerhouse Bellarmine, which last year advanced to the CCS D-I final and was ranked 24th in the nation, according to MaxPreps. The Hawks pushed the Bells to five sets in their preseason opener.
“The bar of expectations is set really high for this group,” said head coach P.K. McDonald. “I think they’ve been working really hard for this year, knowing that it could be something special.”
Outside hitter Brigg Busenhart (Sr.), middle blocker Jordan Willis (Sr.), setter Zac Wagner (Sr.) and outside/rightside hitter Luca Peruzzi (Jr.) power the Hawks’ juggernaut offense, while defensive specialist Sage Turner (Jr.) and libero John Dias (Jr.) will keep the ball off the hardwood on defense.
Opposite Carl Ward (Sr.), middle blocker Lucas Caudil (Sr.), outside hitter Zack Clark (Sr.), and defensive specialist Sammith Lakka (Jr.) will also be essential pieces to Mt. Madonna’s success.
“We have a lot of depth this year,” McDonald said. “It’s a really balanced team. Brigg is our best offensive weapon, but we have other guys, even outside of our starting lineup, that we can go to for help at any time.”
Even with their talented roster, winning the program’s first league title since 2015 won’t be an easy task.
Aptos has the reigning SCCAL Offensive Player of the Year, outside hitter Kacey Losik, back for his senior season, and head coach Jacob Landel, last year’s SCCAL Coach of the Year, will undoubtedly have his team ready for the second meeting with Mt. Madonna in Aptos.
The Mariners also have setter Michael Spinelli, middle blocker Noah Eitzen, libero Christian Segura and outside hitter Jordan Notari back for their senior seasons.
Losik, Eitzen, Segura and Spinelli have all played varsity since their freshman year.
P.C.S. graduated three key seniors, including league M.V.P. Wyatt Harrison, but have 10 players back from last year’s 35-win team, which won the CCS D-II title and finished runner-up in NorCal.
McDonald said losing in the semifinals, and seeing the Pumas advance deep into the state playoffs has served as motivation for his squad.
“I think watching P.C.S. win CCS and go all the way to the NorCal finals was a wake-up call,” McDonald said. “There’s definitely a big sense of urgency among all the players.”
