Colts pass major test

This season, with nine seniors, the Colts got off to a 4-0 start in Ocean Division play. But Tuesday they faced their first real test of the season as they hosted second-place Capuchino.

The Mustangs gave everything El Camino everything they had, but the Colts it all, coming up with a 25-15, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23 victory to take a two-game lead over the rest of the Ocean Division.

“I think we thought this was our year,” said El Camino outside hitter Amanda Velasco. “[Two years ago] I really did think we’d be here (in first place in the Ocean Division).”

It was Velasco’s all-around game that helped El Camino (5-0 PAL Ocean, 7-0 overall) stave off Capuchino (4-2, 12-8). She was the only Colt to record double-digit kills, finishing with 17. But she was just as valuable defensively, as she dug up 33 balls.

“She’s definitely our go-to in crunch time,” said El Camino head coach Apollo Madayag.

That was evident in Game 2. Velasco finished with five kills — four of which came down the stretch as the Colts rallied from a 20-17 deficit to take the game 25-22.

Carly Jeung added nine kills for El Camino, while Nene Otuhiva had eight. Jhianna Santos guided the offense, finishing with 33 assists. Mavis Umali chipped in with 18 assists.

Capuchino was led by Bailey O’Mahony, who finished with 11 kills. Maria Luiza Silva added eight kills, while Jaisa Gamble had six, four of which came off blocks.

Velasco admitted that while excited about the importance of the match, the Colts were a little apprehensive as well.

“We were nervous during warmups,” Velasco said.

Those jitters showed as the Mustangs opened the first set with three straight points. Sofia Stemberga started the game with a roof block for Capuchino’s first point. An El Camino hitting error and a kill from O’Mahony put the Mustang up 3-0.

But the Colts settled in after that. Velasco got the Colts on the board with a kill down the line, followed by a roof block from Ani Moors-Tafilele. Back-to-back kills from Velasco tied the game at 5-all and her second put down ignited a 9-1 run, with the Colts getting five straight finishes to get the offense humming.

Three straight Capuchino errors put the Mustangs in a 15-6 hole, but they climbed back out by winning four points in a row. Devon Oliver and Roisin Uniacki had back-to-back kills. An El Camino error followed before Oliver capped the run with a kill off the Colts block to close to 15-10.

El Camino weathered the run and then finished the game with a flourish, winning 10 of the last 15 points to post a 25-15 Game 1 win.

Capuchino got off to an even better start in Game 2, scoring seven unanswered points. Kylie Wilborn served up a trio of aces and the Colts committed four errors to start the set.

When Gamble roofed an El Camino attack, the Mustangs enjoyed their biggest lead of the match, 14-6.

But much as they did in the first set, the Colts rallied. Down 15-7, El Camino took advantage of a pair of Capuchino errors. Kills from Otuhiva, back-to-back finishes from Madelyn Joe and another error by the Mustangs gave the Colts six straight points as they closed to 15-13.

Capuchino stabilized and eventually pushed its lead to 20-16 following a service ace from Stemberga, but the Mustangs could not hold off the hard-charging Colts. El Camino went on to win nine of the last 11 points to pull out a 25-22 lead.

In Game 3, the Mustangs cleaned up their game. Playing their best set of the night, Capuchino battled back and forth with El Camino. There were five lead changes and 13 ties, the last coming at 19-all.

This time, it was the Mustangs who finished with a rush. An Oliver kill gave Capuchino a 20-19 lead, one it would not relinquish. That was followed by an Ellie Wang service ace and a kill from Jeung to put the Mustangs up 22-19. A kill from El Camino’s Bella Madayag stemmed the tide briefly, but a net serve from the Colts and kills from O’Mahony and Stemberga gave the Mustangs a 25-20 victory.

“Sometimes the girls want to go on their own,” Coach Madayag said of coming up short in the third set. “I want them to be creative, but sometimes you have to listen to your coach.”

El Camino quickly snatched the momentum back to start Game 4, scoring the first four points. The Colts pushed its lead to 6-1 before the Mustangs finally put its offense in gear. Kills from Gamble and Stemberga cut the Capuchino deficit to 10-8, but the Colts used a 8-1 run to take command of the game.

But the Mustangs did not go quietly. Down 20-12, Capuchino reeled off six straight points to close to 20-18. A Velasco kill slowed the Mustangs’ charge briefly, but they went on to rip off four of the next five points to tie the set at 22-22.

Tied again at 23-all, El Camino put the match away with kills from Bella Madayag and Santos to stay undefeated in Ocean Division play.

“This was purely a team effort,” Coach Madayag said. “I love how the girls are doing this. … We’re ahead of the curve now. We’re going to keep pushing.”