Trailing by six points in the first set of the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs Tuesday, prospects looked dim for the Balers.
Overwhelmed by a constant Monta Vista attack, the Balers struggled to find an offensive rhythm, falling behind by six points twice in the first set.
But then, San Benito found its missing link.
Katherine Breger and Raelynn Heredia started to find each other on the offensive attack, and the Balers seized momentum to storm away with a come-from-behind 25-23 first-set win. Sadly, San Benito could never find consistency in its first-round match against the Matadors.
Despite its consistency struggles, San Benito went the distance and fell to Monta Vista 3-2 in a tough five-set struggle.
“That’s all you can ask for,” said Heredia, who finished with 32 assists and 29 digs. “That’s what I live to play for. It would have been nice to pull out a win, but we all we pulled through.”
Breger led the way with 20 kills in the loss. Megan Kelly added six kills and Ellie Burley recorded seven kills.
The game was a back-and-forth fight for both teams, as both squads traded long streaks and droughts.
Monta Vista responded to its first-set loss, by jumping out to a 5-1 second-set lead. On the backs of seniors Stephanie Zhang and Savannah Day, the Matadors built a 10-4 lead.
Again using the combination of Breger and Heredia, San Benito made a mid-set move, shrinking the Monta Vista lead to 12-8. Monta Vista eventually pulled away again to dominate the second set 25-13.
In the third set, Breger got the Balers off to a good start by killing the first two points, but San Benito once again started to struggle. Monta Vista built a 16-9 lead before San Benito made its next move.
Behind Kelley, Erica Chapa, Burley and Breger, San Benito scored 9 of the next 10 points to pull into a tie with the Matadors. But once the score was even, the Balers lost their scoring touch and lost 25-20. The San Benito streaks were a microcosm of how the Baler season went.
“Our team, we have a lot of high peaks and low peaks, but definitely for next year we need to keep it the same,” Heredia said. “We need to have the same mindset. Overall, I can’t complain because we played our hearts out.”
Head coach Dean Askanas said the Baler inconsistency stemmed from poor serve and receive play, but the team’s heart allowed them to win and stay in matches.
“The team has a lot of heart. You know, we are just a little short on some fundamentals that would … if you could combine the heart with the fundamentals, we would have something,” he said. “They had a great season, but our passing let us down again. That’s been a struggle all season, but it’s amazing how well we play.”
In the fourth set, San Benito never trailed. The Balers biggest lead was only six points – the set’s 25-19 final – but the Balers never allowed Monta Vista to gather more than two points in a row.
The win set up a final, fifth set, but from the beginning San Benito never found its footing, as Monta Vista took a 14-9 lead. With Monta Vista needing only one more point, San Benito rallied to pull within one.
But San Benito couldn’t put the finishing touches on its rally, and lost 15-13.
Regardless of the loss, the Balers were excited about the team’s second-place TCAL finish, and what next year will bring.
“We have our ups and downs but I can’t complain – it was a great season,” Heredia said. “It was amazing. We haven’t tied for second in so long. To be on this team, and now that we tied for second, it was amazing.”
Askanas was proud of his team and how far they came.
“I love the team and they have a lot of heart,” he said. “I would say it’s the best season we’ve had in four years – that says a lot. I am proud of the team and that it was a pleasure to be their coach.”
San Benito finishes its season with an overall record of 16-20. Monte Vista traveled to Menlo-Atherton on Thursday for the second round of the CCS playoffs.
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