San Benito volleyball team recognized four times
After breaking even in the Tri-County Athletic League this year
with a 6-6 record, good enough for fourth place behind North
Salinas, Salinas and Notre Dame, the San Benito High girls
volleyball team was awarded four all-league selections last week,
including a pair of first-team picks.
Senior libero Sara Yamasaki and junior opposite Katherine Breger
were both selected to the TCALs first team, which included the top
11 players from around the league, while sophomore setter Raelynn
Heredia was chosen second team all-league, and senior Mari Vallejo
was named to the league’s sportsmanship team.
San Benito volleyball team recognized four times
After breaking even in the Tri-County Athletic League this year with a 6-6 record, good enough for fourth place behind North Salinas, Salinas and Notre Dame, the San Benito High girls volleyball team was awarded four all-league selections last week, including a pair of first-team picks.
Senior libero Sara Yamasaki and junior opposite Katherine Breger were both selected to the TCALs first team, which included the top 11 players from around the league, while sophomore setter Raelynn Heredia was chosen second team all-league, and senior Mari Vallejo was named to the league’s sportsmanship team.
This past season, Yamasaki was the defensive leader for the defensive-minded Balers, who finished with an 18-19 overall record. As San Benito’s starting libero, the four-year varsity player led the Balers with 558 digs in 105 sets, or 5.3 digs per set.
Meanwhile, the junior Breger anchored San Benito’s attack with 291 kills this past season, or 2.8 kills per set — the most by any Baler since Emily Kortsen’s 2007-08 campaign, according to MBayPreps. Breger also contributed 44 blocks for the Balers, which was the second most on the team.
The two first-team selections for San Benito was tied for the second most in the TCAL with Salinas and Notre Dame, as Cowboys Ellie Larronde and Alex Barbeau, and Spirits Mariel Busch and Lily Minor each earned first-team nods.
After earning the TCAL title with an 11-1 record, North Salinas had a league-high four first-team selections, including MacKenzie Nelson, Sara Makanani, Ellen Yamasaki and Julia Ashen, who was also named Most Valuable Player of the league.
Vikings head coach Bill Ashen, meanwhile, was named Coach of the Year.
On the all-league second team, San Benito sophomore setter Raelynn Heredia received recognition this season after she compiled 731 assists for the Balers, or 7.0 assists per set. It was Heredia’s first full season as the starting setter for San Benito.
On defense, Heredia also contributed 319 digs in 99 sets for the Balers, which was third most on the team.
Go online to www.freelancenews.com for a complete list of the selections.
