Gregori High's mastery on the volleyball court has been so pronounced this year the Jaguars have needed to find other ways to challenge themselves during matches.
Including Thursday's 25-19, 25-14, 25-6 defeat of Beyer, Gregori is 24-0 and 7-0 in the Modesto Metro Conference and has won 34 straight games dating back to Sept. 8.
The wins have come with ease, so the Jaguars have started looking toward the scoreboard for a second measure of success.
"We try to keep the other team to as few points as possible, and that's the goal," said junior outside hitter Maycie LaBass. "That third game was nice."
Only two MMC teams this season have scored in double figures in all three games against the Jaguars. Beyer did it in the first meeting, and Enochs did it last week.
But Gregori's mere dominance isn't the scary thing about this team. Despite having a senior class on campus for the first time, you'll only find one of them on the Jags' roster, with the other 11 from the class of 2014.
It means Gregori is destined to be even better next year. It also means the Jaguars will be needing to find better teams to play in the non-conference portion of their schedule.
Coach Ron Silva has taken care of upping the ante, having entered Gregori in the Nov. 20 Stockton Classic at Lincoln High. The Jaguars will be facing a bracket that includes Archbishop Mitty of San Jose - the No. 4 team in the nation - as well as St. Mary's and possible Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff foes in El Camino and Bella Vista.
"We'll be able to make adjustments after we play those kinds of teams, and that will help us because we're really looking forward to the sections," Silva said.
They were hardly challenged by a gutsy Patriot team (4-3 MMC,) trailing only once in the match - at 2-1 in the second game. The Jags finished that one with an 8-1 scoring run, then rolled out 11-2 in the third game.
By holding Beyer to single digits in the third game Gregori reached its scoreboard goal, but did it improve? LaBass, who led the Jags with 22 kills and six digs, said most of the team's improvement comes in practice.
"We have a lot of intense game situations in practice, and when we go against each other it makes everybody work that much harder," she said. "In those situations you just want to beat your teammates."
Silva seconded that notion.
"It starts in our practices and what we try to get the girls to do on the court," Silva said. "We focus on speed, good technique, being smart on the court and never, never slowing down. The moment we slow down we're playing to the level of the other team.
"The girls have adopted that through the program, even though they're juniors, sophomores and a couple freshmen. We're building off that."
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