It was a bounce-back win for the San Benito Haybalers on
Thursday night, but head coach Erica Richardson had a different
take.
HOLLISTER
It was a bounce-back win for the San Benito Haybalers on Thursday night, but head coach Erica Richardson had a different take.
“We played down to our competition,” the first-year head coach said.
After suffering a three-game sweep to Monterey on Tuesday, the Balers returned the three-game favor on Carmel Thursday when they defeated the visiting Padres 25-14, 25-21, 25-19 at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
But after controlling Game 1, San Benito allowed Carmel to creep closer and closer in each ensuing game — the exact opposite of what Richardson was expecting from her team.
“They gained points on us every game when we should have been shutting them down,” Richardson said. “Game 1 was our best game, then we relaxed.
“It wasn’t the type of win that we strive for.”
The Balers improve to 6-2 in the Tri-County Athletic League and 9-6 overall, nonetheless. However, the fact that San Benito played down to Carmel, which is now 1-6 in the TCAL, left a sour taste for Richardson.
“It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the net,” she said. “You compete against yourself to get better, and we really stepped back and played Carmel’s game.
“And that’s not how we play.”
San Benito will look to improve on Tuesday when it will host Seaside at 6:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3
CARML 14 21 19
SANB 25 25 25
