49ers grounded by Solano
Slim playoff chances squashed in final home match
November 10, 2010 11:44:00 PM
Taylor Thompson doesn't have much use for pretty adjectives when her team loses.
"It's sucky," she said.
Still, in a season that looked doomed from the beginning on paper, even the Yuba College setter can find some positives in the 49ers progression since August. This team that consists of all freshmen was in contention for the postseason, right up until Wednesday, when Solano came in and ended all hopes with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-16 home finale defeat for the 49ers.
"I thought we played well tonight," she said. "We didn't give up — like a fight."
Still, it stung.
"No, I wanted to go to the playoffs," Thompson said.
Yuba entered the Bay Valley Conference match needing quite a lot to get back to the postseason for a second straight season. First, the 49ers (13-8 overall, 10-4 in conference) needed to sweep the Falcons. Then, they needed to win their final two road games against Contra Costa and Mendocino just to be able to cross their fingers for other opponents to lose.
So when an errant 49ers spike ended the first game and put an end to the playoff hopes, Yuba coach Greg Chapman calmly walked by the scorer's table as his team switched sides. He knew what his team was up against and once the postseason pipe dream was over, he just wanted them to play hard against a strong Falcons squad.
Well, Yuba had its moments. In game two, the 49ers rallied back from a 12-3 deficit to make it interesting and Solano coach Darla Williams needed to call a pair of timeouts.
But against the deep and athletic Falcons roster, the 10-woman 49ers didn't have enough.
"Playing them is like playing tennis against a brick wall," Chapman said. "It just keeps on coming back."
But the coach is also excited about his players coming back next year. So when asked about losing a chance at the postseason, he shrugged it off, preferring to focus on this team's maturity.
"They came together really well and made some strides that I didn't think we could," he said. "They learned to work together in a lot of different ways.
"We want to keep improving. It's a matter of finishing strong and not leaving a bad taste in our mouths."
Then comes extra conditioning training and an offseason full of work to compete with the Solanos and Napa Valleys of the BVC. Yuba usually rolls through the weaker teams in the conference before facing battles against those two opponents.
Thompson finished with 17 assists, Hailey Harris had eight kills and three digs, and Alisha Benge had four kills and seven digs. Brittany Keys and Kelijo Boney each contributed four kills for the 49ers, who are now playing strictly for themselves.
Yuba has continual success against both Mendocino and Contra Costa, and the plan for the final two games of the year is simple and brutal, Thompson said.
"We'll kill them and finish on a good note," she said.
"It's sucky," she said.
Still, in a season that looked doomed from the beginning on paper, even the Yuba College setter can find some positives in the 49ers progression since August. This team that consists of all freshmen was in contention for the postseason, right up until Wednesday, when Solano came in and ended all hopes with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-16 home finale defeat for the 49ers.
"I thought we played well tonight," she said. "We didn't give up — like a fight."
Still, it stung.
"No, I wanted to go to the playoffs," Thompson said.
Yuba entered the Bay Valley Conference match needing quite a lot to get back to the postseason for a second straight season. First, the 49ers (13-8 overall, 10-4 in conference) needed to sweep the Falcons. Then, they needed to win their final two road games against Contra Costa and Mendocino just to be able to cross their fingers for other opponents to lose.
So when an errant 49ers spike ended the first game and put an end to the playoff hopes, Yuba coach Greg Chapman calmly walked by the scorer's table as his team switched sides. He knew what his team was up against and once the postseason pipe dream was over, he just wanted them to play hard against a strong Falcons squad.
Well, Yuba had its moments. In game two, the 49ers rallied back from a 12-3 deficit to make it interesting and Solano coach Darla Williams needed to call a pair of timeouts.
But against the deep and athletic Falcons roster, the 10-woman 49ers didn't have enough.
"Playing them is like playing tennis against a brick wall," Chapman said. "It just keeps on coming back."
But the coach is also excited about his players coming back next year. So when asked about losing a chance at the postseason, he shrugged it off, preferring to focus on this team's maturity.
"They came together really well and made some strides that I didn't think we could," he said. "They learned to work together in a lot of different ways.
"We want to keep improving. It's a matter of finishing strong and not leaving a bad taste in our mouths."
Then comes extra conditioning training and an offseason full of work to compete with the Solanos and Napa Valleys of the BVC. Yuba usually rolls through the weaker teams in the conference before facing battles against those two opponents.
Thompson finished with 17 assists, Hailey Harris had eight kills and three digs, and Alisha Benge had four kills and seven digs. Brittany Keys and Kelijo Boney each contributed four kills for the 49ers, who are now playing strictly for themselves.
Yuba has continual success against both Mendocino and Contra Costa, and the plan for the final two games of the year is simple and brutal, Thompson said.
"We'll kill them and finish on a good note," she said.
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