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Plain and simple – the East Bay Athletic League boys’ volleyball season is crazy and unpredictable.
With the continued growth of club volleyball, every team in the EBAL has club volleyball players, bringing the level of play to probably the best overall the league has ever been.
Even the junior varsity and freshman matches, which were at times in the past were unwatchable, have gotten fun to watch. I see it at the middle school I work at that more kids – both boys and girls – are playing more volleyball at lunch.
After speaking with longtime iconic Foothill coach Dusty Collins the other night, he said that on any given night …
Man, he was spot on.
Two nights after telling me that, Dougherty Valley came into a match with De La Salle at 11-16 overall and 2-9 in EBAL play. The Spartans came in 7-4 in the deep and talented league. Three sets later, Dougherty Valley walked away with the 3-0 sweep. Two weeks back, the Wildcats got their first win in EBAL play when they shocked San Ramon Valley.
Livermore, who the Big Picture talked about last week, Dublin and San Ramon Valley are all 10-2 with one league match to play.
Livermore, after another pair of wins last week, is 29-4 overall, with Dublin at 21-4. San Ramon Valley is 20-9.
How have the three fared against each other?
Livermore lost 3-2 to both De La Salle and Livermore, but those came early in the league season, and the Cowboys have won 14 straight. Livermore has beaten Dublin 3-0 and 3-1 and could play De La Salle and San Ramon Valley in the EBAL playoffs.
Dublin’s two losses have come to Livermore, as mentioned above, but they have wins over De La Salle and San Ramon Valley.
San Ramon Valley suffered that shocker to Dougherty and lost 3-1 to Dublin.
But what makes the league so perplexing is the ability of teams like Dougherty Valley. The Wildcats have won three straight after starting league 0-9. And two of those wins came over likely playoff teams in San Ramon Valley and De La Salle.
Then you have a team like Amador Valley. The Dons are 15-15 overall and just 3-9 in league. Two separate coaches told me Amador is much better than their record. If you remove their league games, the Dons are 12-6 overall with a tournament title.
They also lost 3-2 to Livermore and San Ramon Valley last week, taking two playoff teams to the limit.
California is 18-13 overall but just 6-6 in league. De La Salle at first glance may seem to be down a bit this year with a 16-16 overall record and a 7-5 EBAL mark.
But I think instead of questioning if the Spartans are down, think that maybe the entire league is much better than in the past.
The same could be said about Foothill as the Falcons are 15-14 and 6-6. The Falcons have a win over De La Salle, but the Falcons have fallen twice to Livermore and Dublin.
Granada has put a 16-10 overall record on the board, but the Mats have managed to go just 4-8 in league.
The team bringing up the bottom right now is Monte Vista as the Mustangs are 11-13 overall and 1-11 in league, but you know the San Ramon Valley coaches will not let their players overlook the Mustangs in tonight’s final EBAL game.
It’s got to be crazy for the coaches in the EBAL this year but wow, what a time to be a volleyball fan.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation. To sign up for free, visit here.
