Behind 12 kills from Katherine Breger and 10 kills from Ellie
Burley, the Balers made quick work of host Silver Creek in three
sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) in San Jose, and will advance to
Saturday’s quarterfinal round against No. 3 Menlo-Atherton (20-7)
as a result.
SAN JOSE
Despite battling the intensity of a road playoff contest, the San Benito girls volleyball team emerged with a three-set sweep over No. 11 Silver Creek Wednesday night in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
Behind 12 kills from Katherine Breger and 10 kills from Ellie Burley, the Balers made quick work of host Silver Creek in three sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) in San Jose, and will advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal round against No. 3 Menlo-Atherton (20-7) as a result.
The quarterfinal contest will be a rematch of last season’s Division I semifinal, when Menlo-Atherton defeated the Balers in three — 25-19, 25-22, 25-20.
The match will be held at North Salinas High at 1 p.m.
Wednesday’s match pitted a pair of defensive-minded teams against one another that left San Benito head coach Dean Askanas impressed.
“I thought Silver Creek was very feisty and they played very well,” he said. “I thought they played a very good match and had a very enthusiastic home gym. It was a good challenge for us.”
In order to provide setter Raelynn Heredia with another weapon, Askanas moved Ryan Asp over to the middle blocker position for the postseason, a move that proved to be effective on Wednesday.
“She played well,” Askanas said. “We just need to get her some more attempts, but I think she was effective.”
Heredia, meanwhile, finished with 14 digs and 24 assists, while both Sara Yamasaki and Mari Vallejo provided 14 digs apiece.
The team’s serving, on the other hand, was not considered a bright spot. San Benito committed several service errors, although no statistic was provided at press time.
“Too many service errors,” Askanas said. “It’s gonna have to be a lot better on Saturday.”
San Benito hasn’t played Menlo-Atherton since last season, although Askanas is expecting a lot of offense from the Bears.
Menlo-Atherton has won five straight matches and 11 of its last 12.
