Viewpoint makes it look easy
Top-seeded boys' volleyball team has no trouble with Cate
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

ADAM DAVIS/Acorn Newspapers EYES ON THE PRIZE- Matt Talamantes of Viewpoint sets the ball during the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division V playoffs at home Tuesday night. Despite battling a problem contact lens, Talamantes led the Patriots to victory over Cate.

During Viewpoint High's boys' volleyball match at home Tuesday night against Cate, Patriot senior Matt Talamantes had his right contact lens knocked out. Talamantes constantly rubbed his eye and blinked before checking into the locker room halfway through the third game.

By the time Talamantes regained his vision, the opposing Rams were out of sight and out of mind.

The defending Division V champion Patriots showed no rust after 10 days without a match, defeating Cate in three games in the second round of the CIFSouthern Section playoffs.

The Patriots, who received a bye in the first round, won 25-14, 25-18 and 25-13.

Talamantes played well despite his blurry vision, combining hard kills and soft taps over the net.

"Every night I try to mix it up as much as possible at the net with my kills," Talamantes said. "I'm not that big, so I can't just overpower my opponents. I have to keep them guessing."

Viewpoint easily handled Cate in the first game, at one point going on a 10-4 run to build a 19-10 lead. The run was sparked by kills from Talamantes and senior Julian Nagendran.

In the second game, Cate tied the score at 12 before the Patriots went on a 13-6 run to close things out. During this game, Talamantes really started to rub his eye. Not that it mattered, as the senior applied five kills and one ace in the second game.

Talamantes added three more kills in the third game, and the Patriots won easily 25-13 to win the match.

"Even though the results were good, I didn't think we played as well as we could have," Viewpoint head coach Mike Talamantes said. "However, we hadn't played a game in 10 days, so we were a little rusty. I think once we start playing again on Friday we should be back to normal."

Viewpoint won a coin flip and will play Bell-Jeff High at home Friday night at 7 p.m. Bell-Jeff is the No. 2 seed out of the Santa Fe League.

Coach Talamantes said the team is playing above expectations this season in its quest for a third straight CIF title.

"This was supposed to be a transitional year for us," the older Talamantes said. "Besides Matt (Talamantes) and Julian (Nagendran), most of our team was on the bench last year and didn't play much.

"So we have a completely different roster from last year, and I really thought we were going to struggle. However, the team has come together well and has been tough to beat. I really think that if we can win it this year, we can win four in a row because our team should be even better next year," he said.

Due to the team losing a lot of its height from last year, the Patriots had to switch up their style of defense in 2007.

"I don't want to give too much of it away to our opponents, but we are using a different defense this year that has really worked for us," Nagendran said.

"As far as our height goes, yeah we are a little smaller, but we can all still jump very well. We have been playing smart without the ball, and I think if we keep playing the way we are, we can win our third straight championship."

Talamantes and Nagendran especially want to go out on top in their final season as Patriots.

"I have been waiting and looking forward to the playoffs my senior year for a while, but at the same time, I didn't want it to begin because I don't want my time at Viewpoint to end either," the younger Talamantes said.

"The key thing is to stay focused every game. Every game could potentially be my last game right now, but that's the last thing on my mind when a game starts. The playoffs are already nerveracking, and I don't want to add to that."