Tag: volleyball

The San Benito High girls volleyball team had one of its best seasons in program history a year ago, as it went 31-7 and...

The San Benito High girls volleyball team had one of its best seasons in program history a year ago, as it went 31-7 and won a Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division championship. However, the Haybalers simply weren’t good enough in a three-set blowout loss to Menlo-Atherton in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff semifinal.

Back in the CIF State Track and Field Championships for the second straight year, Marisa Villegas enjoyed her experience every bit as much from last season. Villegas, who just completed her junior year, ran the 1600-meter race in a time of 5 minutes, 2.71 seconds to take 16th overall last Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis.

Every time Chris Gonzalez has taken the court this season, he’s done it with a heavy heart. Last summer, Gonzalez’s father, Armando, died in a motorcycle accident. He was 37.

As Annie Breger was in the middle of the high jump competition with teammates Camille Finley and Bernadette Forbush, she couldn’t help but think about how far everyone has come. The three all attended Southside School, as did junior running standout Marisa Villegas.

Tuesday’s match between the Christopher High and San Benito High boys volleyball teams featured one of the favorites to win the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division against one of the more inexperienced squads. Experience won over youth as the Cougars rebounded from a Game 1 loss to beat the host Haybalers in four games.

What the San Benito High boys volleyball team lacks in experience, it hopes to make up for in maturing talent. First-year Haybalers coach Eric Adams sees plenty of promise with his team, even though some of his players are in their first year of playing the sport.

The San Benito High girls volleyball team won 30 matches for one of the few times in school history, including their first league championship since 2007. But the Haybalers simply ran into a buzzsaw in Menlo-Atherton on Wednesday in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff semifinal at Piedmont Hills High in San Jose.

The last time the San Benito High girls volleyball team was involved in a five-game match, it let a lead slip away. On Saturday, the Haybalers weren’t about to let it happen again. Not with so much on the line. San Benito won a thrilling 24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 15-12 thriller over Palo Alto in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff quarterfinal, christening the newly renovated Mattson Gymnasium.

The San Benito High girls volleyball team could use a day off. A three-game sweep over Christopher on Nov. 3 wrapped up a brutal four-day stretch in which the team played six matches, including five in one day at the Milpitas Spikefest II tournament on Oct. 31.