‘Balers thump Valley Christian in home opener; showdown with
defending champ Carlmont looms
Hollister – Playing in the friendly confines of its own gym for the first time this season, the San Benito girls’ volleyball team didn’t disappoint its hometown fans. And in a week during which they face two opponents that defeated them last year, the ‘Balers took care of business against the first one, blowing past Valley Christian in three games Tuesday night.
With a grudge match looming against defending CCS Division I champion Carlmont on Thursday, San Benito (6-2) made sure not to overlook the pesky Warriors, pounding them 25-13, 25-18, 25-20.
“Just dominate and don’t let up,” ‘Balers junior Emily Kortsen said of her team’s strategy against Valley Christian. “Just because we’re ahead, don’t think we’re better and let up.”
Though the Warriors (2-1) are far from the team that beat San Benito in four games in 2005, the ‘Balers nonetheless took full advantage of the opportunity to exact a bit of revenge, running away with the first game to set the early tone for the romp.
San Benito used a 9-1 run to take a 13-4 lead before Valley Christian knew what happened. The Chelsea Fowles-to-Korsten combination proved devastating from the start, with setter Fowles recording eight assists in the opening game and Kortsen hammering her teammate’s feeds down for five quick kills.
With Kortsen and Morgan O’Laughlin (nine kills) taking care of most of the offense Tuesday, outside hitter Bri Romero stepped up in a different capacity to give the ‘Balers a spark. “Bri’s defense was incredible, inspiring,” San Benito head coach Dean Askanas said. “She just made the greatest plays out there, the greatest passes.”
Valley Christian overcame a number of mishits in the second game to pull within 18-14 on a kill by Alyssa Berding, but San Benito won three of the next four points to put the game out of reach.
The Warriors battled well to start the third game, even taking a brief 10-9 lead on a perfectly-placed ball by Liz Fleming, but the veteran ‘Balers used their depth and poise to hand Valley Christian its first loss of the season. “I’m glad we finished it,” said Kortsen, who recorded a match-high 17 kills. “Sometimes, by the end we let up and let it go to four or five (games).”
Despite the resounding victory, Askanas was quick to say no one should read too much into Tuesday’s result, citing how the Warriors are an unproven team. And with a visit to Carlmont on deck, the ‘Balers’ coach wanted to make sure his team was extra focused.
“I think we’re going to have to play even better on Thursday to get the result we want,” said Askanas, who also commended the improved offensive play of middle blocker Ali Sharp. “We’ll have to get more production from all of our hitters. We’ll have to all play defense like Bri did today.”
After suffering an excruciating five-game loss to Carlmont in the CCS Division I championship match last year, San Benito players spoke of having long ago circled Thursday’s match on their schedule.
“We want to kill them so bad,” O’Laughlin said. “We just want to get revenge – show them we’re better and stronger this year. … It’s payback.”
JV Note: The San Benito JV girls’ volleyball team dropped to 4-4 on the year with its three-game loss to visiting Valley Christian Tuesday. After a strong 3-1 run to take third place in the Notre Dame Tournament last weekend, the ‘Balers suffered what coach Marlene Villegas called “communication” errors in falling 25-14, 17-25, 15-11 to the Warriors.
“We just didn’t talk today,” said Villegas, who noted that the lack of communication led to unforced errors. “It was really quiet out there.”
Libero Shayna Nakata posted 15 digs for the ‘Balers, while middle blocker Wardam Alam recorded nine kils.
