Hollister improves TCAL mark to 8-0 with straight-set win over
North Salinas
Hollister – It’s hard to imagine how a team can play so well night in and night out, no matter who the competition is.
The San Benito High girls’ volleyball team breezed to its eighth-straight Tri-County Athletic League victory on Tuesday night at home in three sets against the visiting Vikings of North Salinas , 25-12, 25-17 and 25-7 to further distance itself from the rest of the league at the top of the standings.
“I thought the defense started a little bit too slow though,” said SBHS head coach Dean Askanas. “So, we talked about that, about how we want to have a better defensive start on Thursday. But our serving was consistent tonight and the girls played well.”
The Haybalers found themselves in a tough spot heading into Tuesday’s match with the Vikings as setter Chelsea Fowles was on the bench due to injury. But Morgan O’Laughlin, usually the team’s middle hitter, showed how versatile of a player she is by stepping up and playing setter as if it were her normal position. O’Laughlin’s absence in the middle saw Courtney Dunn come in and also play well in an unfamiliar spot in the Hollister rotation.
It was clear from the opening serve of Tuesday’s match that the visiting team was going to have its hands full trying to contain the attack of the league-leading Haybalers.
O’Laughlin made it 4-0 early in the first set on a perfectly-placed tip shot. Moments later the ‘Balers went up 5-1 on a rocket of a kill from Emily Kortsen that literally knocked the defender who was unlucky enough to be in the shot’s way to the ground.
Kortsen put the Haybalers up 11-6 later in the set with an ace, prompting the North Salinas coach to take a timeout. Things didn’t get much better for the Vikings after the break though as J.T. Temperino, Bri Romero and Ali Sharp got going up front with powerful shots of their own.
Bri Romero’s serve carried the Haybalers to 23-11 before another fast-paced kill from Kortsen ended up in the face of a North Salinas defender, bouncing out of bounds setting up game point, which was taken by the ‘Balers thanks to a Vikings’ miscue.
Bri Romero’s serving technique caused more problems for the North Salinas defense early in the second set as Hollister jumped out to a 9-3 lead thanks to her three-straight aces. The Haybalers also got some serious effort out of Ari Romero during that stretch as she was able to dig out a couple of tough shots to keep points alive.
The third set saw Kortsen come up with a couple of huge plays. With the ‘Balers up big at 12-1, Kortsen went for a kill but was blocked. Kortsen reacted quickly and managed to get over a soft shot that hit the court untouched as the Vikings’ players thought they had the point in the bag following the block.
