One game after winning its first Central Coast Section Division I playoff game, the San Benito girls water polo season ended Saturday in the second round of the postseason with a 21-5 loss to No. 2 seeded Leland.
San Benito was overwhelmed early as the Chargers built a seven-goal lead in the first quarter. Eventually, Leland took a 13-3 lead into halftime.
“We knew coming in that we were going to be a bit outmatched,” SBHS head coach Hayley Vandercook said. “All we wanted to do was have fun and end the season on a good note. They played pretty well.”
In her last game in the pool for the Balers, Caitlin Schafer finished with a team-high three goals in the loss. Katie Logue and Erin Hepner each added a goal as well for San Benito.
“The girls wanted to have fun and we definitely did that,” Vandercook said. “It’s not easy to lose but we had fun.”
The loss ends a strong 19-10 season for San Benito. Because of such a young squad this year, the team could be even better next year despite the loss of 200-goal scorer Schafer and captain Rachel Estep.
“It was an unexpected year,” Vandercook said. “With all the younger girls, it was great to see them get the experience at this level. It was a great way to end the season.”
SBHS Volleyball
After sweeping Milpitas in the first round of the CCS Division I playoffs, the San Benito volleyball team was swept away and eliminated by No. 3 seed Menlo-Atherton (25-18, 28-26, 25-21) on Saturday.
With the loss, San Benito ends its season with a 21-14 record and a second place finish inside the Monterey Bay League. Against the Bears on Saturday, the Balers played well but were unable to overcome the strong attack from Menlo-Atherton, SBHS head coach Dean Askanas said.
“We played a really good team,” he said. “It was one of the best teams in our section. They were favored to win DI from the beginning of the year. We played right with them.”
Led by 40 digs from senior captain Raelynn Heredia, the Balers stayed close to the Bears in the three losses. On offense, San Benito didn’t have one big scorer, instead they received solid contributions from Erica Chapa (11 kills), Ellie Burley (9 kills) and Alexandria Smallwood.
“It was one of our better team efforts of the year despite the loss,” Askanas said.
Regardless of the elimination, it was a “terrific” season from San Benito, he said.
“Anytime you can get 21 wins it’s a good season,” Askanas said. “We had a terrific season but I think we are capable of more next year.”
AHS Volleyball
The Anzar volleyball season ended in stunning fashion Saturday in the second round of the CCS Division V playoffs at Castilleja.
On the road, the No. 5 Hawks took the first two games (25-19, 25-23) against No. 4 Castilleja before losing the final three sets to be eliminated from CCS play 3-2.
In the final three games, the Hawks never got to match point losing 25-19, 25-20 and 15-13. The victory propelled the Gators into a game Wednesday against No. 1 seed Notre Dame.
The loss ends the Hawks first season under head coach Chloe Goldman at 23-6. Stats from Saturday’s loss were not available at press time.
