Just five days after it delivered a strong defensive effort in a
four-game victory against rival Gilroy, in which it had nearly 100
digs on the night, the San Benito girls volleyball team fell flat
defensively in a quick three-set loss to Notre Dame on Tuesday in
Hollister.
HOLLISTER
Just five days after it delivered a strong defensive effort in a four-game victory against rival Gilroy, in which it had nearly 100 digs on the night, the San Benito girls volleyball team fell flat defensively in a quick three-set loss to Notre Dame on Tuesday in Hollister.
The visiting Spirits dropped the Balers 25-21, 25-18, 25-20.
“We had a very poor defensive effort,” said San Benito head coach Dean Askanas, who was noticeably frustrated following the three-set loss. “We had a poor defensive effort at the tournament, too.”
Following its four-set win last Thursday against Gilroy, San Benito competed in the Menlo Invitational, where it compiled a 2-3 record. The Balers posted victories over Woodside (2-0) and Harbor (2-0), but also lost to Saratoga (0-2), Aragon (1-2) and Menlo (0-2).
San Benito is now 10-12 overall, 1-3 in the Tri-County Athletic League.
The Balers had few answers for Notre Dame as well. The Spirits’ big-hitting front line of Omalara Adenuda (6 blocks), Lily Minor (9 kills), Liz Wyrsch and Mariel Busch (15 kills) caused problems all night for the Balers, and prevented the home team from ever finding any rhythm.
“They played harder than we did and they played harder than us at the tournament, too,” Askanas said. “It’s not a hiccup. We’re not playing hard enough.
“They played so hard defensively, you saw them hustle some balls down and we didn’t have any of that tonight.”
Any momentum gained by Notre Dame after its opening 25-21 first-set victory quickly evaporated in the second set when San Benito jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But the Balers were unable to keep its small cushion.
Hitting errors and a lift brought the Spirits back into the game, and although three kills by Katherine Breger (10 kills) pulled the match to 8-all, Notre Dame went on a 5-0 run and never looked back.
A kill by Adenuda, a kill and a block by Lauren Colesberry, and an ace from Daisy Valladares pushed Notre Dame ahead 12-8. San Benito found points on consecutive kills from Ryan Asp (5 kills), but it couldn’t go on the runs that the Spirits could — Notre Dame went from a 15-13 lead to 21-13 behind multiple kills and down blocks from both Busch and Adenuda.
The third set was a different story, as each team traded points before San Benito pulled ahead slightly on an ace from Sara Yamasaki (13 digs) and back-to-back kills by Ellie Burley (7 kills). But Notre Dame’s offensive runs, and the momentum gained from those runs, could not be stopped.
“We didn’t have spirit,” Askanas said. “We were flat.”
Mari Vallejo provided 14 digs for San Benito, while Jessica Steigelman and Raelynn Heredia each had 11 digs.
The Balers are back in action Thursday night at Alisal. Match time is 6:30 p.m.
