Stallions lose focus in loss to Edison

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Madera South’s Flavio Quiroz reaches up for a kill attempt in Thursday’s three-set loss to Edison.

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The Madera South Stallions volleyball team didn’t have enough focus to keep pace with the Edison-Tigers in a County/Metro Athletic Conference home match.

Although they had some encouraging moments, the Stallions lost 3-0 in Thursday’s home match against the Tigers.

“We started strong,” Madera South coach Jesus Martinez said. “We have the talent to finish games, but unfortunately we lost focus.”

The Stallions showed fight in the first set, going back-and-forth against the visitors.

The Tigers, however, started to distance themselves after breaking a 17-17 tie. Edison scored four straight at that point to take a 21-17 lead. Edison’s Calvin Threlkeld, who had a big game, came up with consecutive kills to help his team pull away. The Tigers closed out the first set, 25-20.

Edison built an 8-4 lead in the second set as Threlkeld continued to be a problem for the home team.

After getting a kill from Flavio Quiroz, the Stallions still trailed 11-6. Madera South later prevailed in an extensive rally and put together its best stretch of the game to cut the gap to two points.

The Tigers, however, closed out the set 25-20 when Quiroz’s shot landed out of bounds on set point.

Edison started fast in the third set and never looked back. The Tigers led 15-5 after another furious spike from Threlkeld.

Quiroz responded with his own vicious hit, but the Stallions never got much closer. The Tigers walked away with a 25-12 win in the final set.

“I think their energy just went down,” Martinez said about his team’s performance in the third set. “They lost confidence in themselves. After they lose the momentum, they lose focus. It’s hard for them to refocus.”