Hollister volleyball closed 2025 strongly and produced its best season in four years. Down the stretch, the Balers went 7-2 in league play to surge into a third place finish in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division. And there was more to come.
The Balers received a No. 8 seed in the Central Coast Section Division 1 playoffs and opened at home against No. 9 Mountain View. On Saturday evening, Nov. 1, Hollister claimed their first CCS victory since 2021, defeating the Spartans 26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19.
In the quarterfinals three days later, the Balers lost to No. 1-seed Menlo-Atherton and finished the season at 20-12, 9-5 in Gabilan play.
“We began the season strong,” said senior outside hitter Daniela Orsetti, after the victory over Mountain View. “There were a couple ups and downs but we all got better and tougher in general. Our communication has really improved.”
Mountain View came from the elite Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, De Anza Division. The Balers outfought them in a back-and-forth battle.
Menlo-Atherton, champions of the Peninsula Athletic League, Bay Division, proved too tough. M-A won 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 and later advanced to the section championship game.
“I’m really proud of the team,” said Hollister coach Lisa Becerra, after the Saturday night victory. “Last year, we didn’t make the playoffs. This year, we got a high enough seed to host. To win in the first round of CCS—this is the first time for me at Hollister. I’m proud of the girls for getting better every year. The program is getting better.”
The team rejoiced on the court after beating Mountain View and celebrated with fans.
Hollister played well, but had to fend off several pushbacks from the Spartans. The Balers were particularly glad for a strong fourth set closeout, and not needing to deal with a winner-take-all fifth set.
Setter Trixie Rizon directed the offense to multiple points of attack. She continually found the red-hot Orsetti, who ripped an amazing 31 kills on the night.
Orsetti scored in multiple ways, hitting line and seam, adding roll shots and tips, and blasting from the back row.
Diana Martinez Ruiz was strong on the attack with 10 kills. Libero Izabella Rodriguez led the defense.
PCAL Gabilan post-season awards went to Orsetti, named First Team All-League and the division’s Offensive Player of the Year. Martinez Ruiz was awarded Second Team All-League.
“We had a specific game plan,” Becerra said. “We wanted to make their defense move and get them out of system. We accomplished that. Give Mountain View credit for winning the third set. They were down and came back. They didn’t make it easy. But we were tough-minded and resilient.”
In the first set, Orsetti was unstoppable with 10 kills. The Balers led 19-14 but Mountain View rallied back to tie. At 24-24, Orsetti belted a short cross for a point and the Spartans netted (interfered with the net) trying to block the subsequent Baler attack.
The second set was a carbon copy. Orsetti remained hot and Martinez Ruiz sparkled with five kills. Yet the feisty visitors closed from a 13-2 deficit to tie the set at 21 and later at 23.
A beautiful high set from Rizon produced a rocket cross from Martinez Ruiz for a kill and a 24-23 lead and the Spartans put their next attack into the net.
Hollister led 20-15 in the third set but again Mountain View had a response. This time, at 23-23, the Spartans scored the final two points and claimed a 25-23 win.
The Balers pushed back and jumped on top early in the fourth set. Orsetti scored from blasts, an off-speed kill, a roll shot and from tooling the block. Reilly Haertel shined in the middle and Martinez Ruiz served two aces as the Balers pulled away to close the night.
“We started out pretty strong,” Orsetti said. “We played like what we wanted. We hit spots. We were being aggressive and had an attack mentality.”
Carlie Rowen, Aubree Barragan and Haertel provided strong complements at the net. Daisy Oropeza contributed at defensive specialist to fortify the defense, led by Rodriguez. Serve receive and passing from the back have been key areas of improvement during the season.
“I’m really proud of Trixie (Rizon),” Becerra said. “She’s come a long way. She’s a second year varsity player but was mostly on the bench last year. She runs our entire offense. She has learned a lot about moving the ball around. And Daisy did a great job at right back tonight. We knew they (Mountain View) like to attack to the right. Big shoutout to her.”
The playoff win punctuated excellent late-season play, highlighted by the charge to claim No. 3 in Gabilan play. Salinas captured the title with a 14-0 mark and Pacific Grove finished second. HHS was third and Carmel was a game back.
King City and Palma were further back, with Santa Catalina and Monte Vista Christian down at the bottom.
In the final month, Hollister swept Monte Vista Christian and Carmel. They beat Palma and Santa Catalina twice, each via a sweep once and in four sets in the other.
The Balers also beat King City in five sets. That run, highlighted by the Oct. 16 win over Carmel, vaulted Hollister ahead of the Padres and into third place.
Becerra’s build of the program is evidenced by the improvement since 2022, her first season with the Balers. That team was 13-17 overall, 6-6 for fourth place in league. In the CCS playoffs, HHS lost its opener to Los Gatos.
The second season featured a step forward in league play to 8-6, though the Balers lost their first-round playoff contest at Los Altos. In 2024, a young squad took a step back, finishing No. 6 in league and missing the playoffs.
In 2025, Hollister took a major jump forward. The 20-12 overall record was the best since 2018.
“It’s been a four-year process,” Becerra said. “The big difference is that we are mentally tougher. Yet we have only three seniors this year. Two sophomores have been starting since they were freshmen and we have juniors who are first time varsity players.
“We are moving in the right trajectory. This match (the victory over Mountain View) speaks to the success of the culture we have built.”
