Thursday, April 23, 1998 | 7:54 a.m.
Coming off Monday night's upset of previously unbeaten Chaparral, Green Valley's boys volleyball coach Caroline Carpenter had the unenviable task of preparing her team for an unheralded but solid Basic squad.
Despite ranting and raving for two days about the quality of their upcoming opponent, her message didn't get through.
On Wednesday evening, a jelling Basic team traveled to Green Valley and walked away with an important 19-17, 4-15, 15-5 victory over the Gators, creating a log jam at second place in the top-heavy Sunrise Division.
The victory -- the Wolves' fifth in a row -- improved Basic to 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the division. Green Valley, which had won three straight, fell to 9-4 and 7-2 and into a three-way tie for second place. The Gators sit tied with Basic and Silverado, each a full game behind Chaparral.
"It was a big win for us," Basic coach Darren Puana said. "Green Valley is a big rival, and our guys were really fired up. We've struggled with them in the past, but we definitely picked up our level of play today."
Pat Corbett and Howie Hopkinson were two of several Wolves who rose to the occasion. Hopkinson finished with a match-high 16 kills and five blocks. Corbett chipped in 11 kills and three blocks.
"I knew I had to step it up today for us to win," said a pumped up Hopkinson. "We were going up against a tough player in (Mitch) Kallick, and I knew I had to match his intensity. I played my heart out. Luckily, it paid off."
Trailing 14-12 in the opening game, Kallick rallied the Gators with his serve to force extra points. Following an errant shot by Ryan Smith, Basic's diminutive outside hitter David Ricardo put the game away by blasting a spike off two Green Valley blockers.
The Gators rallied to take the second game, but appeared fatigued in the deciding set.
"We didn't pass the ball well tonight," Carpenter said, "especially in the last game. Plus, they served well and that really disrupted us. We never could get our passing going, and that proved to be the difference in the game."
Kallick led the Gator attack with 15 kills and three blocks. Smith chipped in 24 assists.
Jared Bradley added 22 assists for the victors.
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