High School Sports

When the San Benito High girls volleyball team is involved in a competitive match, Nicole Andrade never comes off the court. The junior libero is one of four players on the squad—Marisa Villegas, Kieley Hoskins and Lauren Sabbatini are the others—who play all six rotations.

Notes, thoughts and anecdotes from San Benito High’s 45-30 win over Wilcox last week, thus completing a perfect non-league slate for the first time since the 2009 season:

From an early age, Elli Kliewer and Samantha Cortez realized they had running talent. But their potential wouldn’t be realized without developing a true love for running. And that’s exactly what the two San Benito High juniors have: a passion for cross country.

The players weren’t happy. Not even after a convincing 45-30 home win over Wilcox Friday night. Such is the lofty standard of the San Benito High football team this year, when a postgame atmosphere that normally would be festive resembled more of a funeral.

Ceily Hepner always wondered if she was good enough to play with the boys. She’s got her answer. The San Benito High junior starts for a team that has no seniors but plenty of room for growth and optimism.

There aren’t many quarterbacks who also play defensive end and on kickoff return. But that’s exactly the situation Anzar High senior Dave Conrath found himself in a 60-0 loss to Fresno Christian last week. Even though the Hawks couldn’t stay with one of the best 8-man football teams in the state, they might have found a potent passing combination in Conrath and tight end Andres Cobian.

Often times, a football game is won on sheer will, strength and determination. Friday night, San Benito High simply out-muscled host Los Gatos en route to a 35-14 victory. The Haybalers improved to a perfect 3-0 leading up to its final non-league game against Wilcox.

On the surface, the San Benito High girls volleyball team’s three-game sweep—25-15, 25-15, 25-18—over Carmel on Tuesday was rather routine. The Haybalers (5-2) did what they were supposed to do in defeating a decent Carmel squad that entered the non-league contest with a .500 record.

Resiliency continues to be the theme for the San Benito High football team. In their season opener against Sacred Heart Prep, the Haybalers overcame three turnovers en route to an 18-point win. In a 42-14 victory over Palo Alto on Friday, host San Benito possessed the ball for only 1 minute, 42 seconds in the first quarter, a result of a muffed punt and Palo Alto turning that into a long touchdown drive.

Julia Pearson doesn’t lack for confidence. The No. 1 player for the San Benito High girls tennis team also plans on trying out for the lacrosse team in the spring. That means she’ll have to be able to check bigger and stronger boys in a game that packs plenty of brute force.