The El Capitan High School boys’ volleyball team hosted Armijo High School on April 28 as the opening round of the Sac Joaquin Division II playoffs began. The Armijo Royals entered the game with a record of 12-3 overall, while the El Capitan Gauchos had an overall record of 22-8.
Set 1
The match began with El Capitan taking the lead; However, Armijo High quickly caught up and took it themselves. The Royals were able to rely on kills from their senior, Sir El, who continuously challenged the Gauchos’ defense. With the score tied 14-14, time out was called by the Gauchos. After the break, El Capitan came back strong. Senior Gabriel Olvera alongside junior Shane Thao helped control the momentum with their blocks at the net. As the set came to its end, El Capitan was able to take the lead. The final score read 25-22, and the Gauchos took a 1-0 lead.
Set 2
The beginning of the next set featured both schools going point for point to start things off. Eventually, the Gauchos were able to take a 14-10 lead, but the Royals took advantage of El Capitan errors and scored four straight. After an El Capitan time out, Armijo did not allow the Gauchos to catch up to them. The Royals created crafty opportunities for spikes and tips that kept the Gauchos confused. This allowed Armijo to take a good lead until they won the second set 25-19.
Set 3
The third set started off with Armijo quickly taking the lead. After falling behind, El Capitan called a timeout to regroup. Shortly after the time out, the Gauchos were able to tie things. Anthony Jones created hard kill opportunities with swift spikes. Tyler McCrery and Gabriel Olvera kept the pressure on the Royals with numerous blocks at the net. As the match progressed, both teams continued to pressure each other as this set featured the longest rallies all evening. This set became the most competitive of the game. With the score tied 24-24, El Capitan’s Anthony Jones nailed a spike to give the Gauchos the lead only to have Armijo’s Sir El answer with a spike of his own to keep things even. However, a kill by El Capitan’s Tyler McCreary and a hit out of bounds by the Royals eventually gave El Capitan the set 27-25.
Set 4
In the beginning of the fourth set, Armijo’s Sir El continued his strong offensive pressure with multiple kills. El Capitan responded on the defensive end, relying on McCreary and Olvera’s strong blocks. The game stayed close throughout the set until eventually the score was tied 19-19. At this point, El Capitan was able to gain the lead after an error by Armijo. As the set ran to a close, the Gauchos were able to apply consistent pressure while the Royals committed enough errors to allow the Gauchos to reach the 25-point mark, securing the set at 25-19.
After the game, El Capitan’s Gabriel Olvera discussed the team’s chemistry as the season progressed. “At the beginning of the year, I didn’t really know some of the guys like Aj, but now we’ve built a strong connection. We trust each other a lot more on the court, and that made a big difference in how we play.”
With the win, El Capitan will advance to the next round of the playoffs against Whitney High School on April 29th, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
- Photos and article by Yoanna Morales. ↩︎
