St. Francis girls volleyball coach Lake Merchen talks to his team after their win against Presentation at Presentation High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
No. 1 St. Francis 3, Presentation 0
The top team in the Bay Area improved to 24-3 and 7-1 in league play with an easy 3-0 sweep at Presentation (25-15, 25-6, 25-13).
Outside hitter Katherine Adkison and senior Bridget Gammons were both standouts. Ella Fulton, Riley Barulich, Cassidy Pietsch and libero Nyaah Cacao all had superb games as St. Francis coach Lake Merchen won his 17th game in WCAL play.
No. 5 Sacred Heart Prep 3, No. 15 Sacred Heart Cathedral 0
In the battle of Sacred Hearts, Prep raised 23,000 dollars for breast cancer charities on its annual “Pink Out” night, and then swept a Cathedral team that was coming off a shocking victory over Valley Christian.
Six seniors led the way for the Gators. Setter Isabelle Marco had 10 kills and 13 digs, and Jillian Amaro had 19 assists. OH Mia Radeff had 11 kills and five digs, and MB Namoi Watson had seven blocks and two kills. Kelsey Chad had eight digs and libero Ellie Wheeler had 11 digs. SHP improved to 14-8.
No. 8 Menlo-Atherton 3, Aragon 0
Menlo-Atherton’s winning streak hit a month (last loss was Sept. 2) and double-digits (10 consecutive victories) on Tuesday against Aragon (25-14, 25-16, 25-17).
What’s behind the Bears’ winning ways?
“Tenacious team chemistry,” M-A coach Denny Falls said. “Many players across the team have contributed in different ways and on different nights this season, so that’s what has made the run so special and dynamic.”
Aria Sokol had eight kills and two aces, and Dani Eline had 11 kills, 13 digs and two blocks. Junior Sarah Littlefield had three kills and three blocks, and junior Duru Ruacan had 20 kills, eight digs and two aces. Sienna Morales contributed nine kills and six blocks, and Kiela King had 12 digs and two aces.
No. 11 Palo Alto 3, Gunn 0
Palo Alto is celebrating spirit week before its homecoming football game against ranked Menlo School friday, and the volleyball team had a reason to be especially festive on Monday after it notched a third victory (25-19, 26-24, 25-17) over rival Gunn this season. Paly senior Kylie Yen had 15 kills and eight digs, and athlete of the week nominee Maura Hambly had 10 kills and nine digs.
Sophomore Reese Japic had three aces, three kills and three blocks, and Sophie Mies had 35 assists, six kills and nine digs. Mackenzie Zhao added a dozen digs as Palo Alto improved 18-3 and 7-0 in league play. Paly coach Chris Crader said Palo Alto has won 32 of its last 34 matches against Gunn.
No. 12 James Logan 3, Mission San Jose 0
James Logan rebounded from its loss to Mountain View-Arizona with an easy victory over Mission San Jose (25-21, 25-11, 25-22) to improve to 28-4. Sophomore setter Leann Jung reached 1,000 career assists in the first set, compiling 22 assists and nine digs.
Other top performers were McKenzie Anderson with 13 kills and 20 digs, and junior Kemi Adediji with nine kills and four digs. Senior Dylan Gutierrez had six kills and four digs. Senior libero and athlete of the week nominee Julianna Bondoc had a game-high 25 digs. Logan is now 9-0 in the league.
No. 13 San Ramon Valley 0, Carondelet 0
San Ramon Valley swept another East Bay rival in Carondelet, this time by scores of 28-26, 25-19, 25-18. Junior outside hitter Lucy Chertock had 17 kills, one ace, six digs and one block, and fellow OH Maddie Connellly had 10 kills and four digs.
Junior MH Sophia Vella had nine kills and two blocks. Senior setter Audree Vasconi had 25 assists, one ace and two digs. SRV is now 16-4 with an 8-1 record against EBAL competition.
Campolindo 3, Las Lomas 2
Campolindo had to pull off what team statistician Matt Worster dubbed “the reverse sweep” to stay a perfect 8-0 in Diablo Athletic League play. Las Lomas took the first two sets 25-21 and 28-26.
But then the Cougars rallied to win the final three, including a mini-rally from down 0-3 in the fifth. Sophomore Mia Wallach closed out the game by serving eight straight points after getting it down to 10-7.
Senior setter Rachel Andre had 43 assists,and Hanna Bjornson had a team-high 25 kills on a whopping 68 attempts. Senior libero Riley Regan had 24 digs to anchor the defense, and sophomore middle Ava Rogers had four blocks.
Pittsburg 3, Antioch 0
The Pirates improved to 3-2 in BVAL play with a victory (3-0 25-16, 25-22, 25-13) over rival Antioch on Tuesday night. Libero Janilca Velasco-Moreno had three aces and 28 receptions, and OH Niamiah Moreno had a team-high 13 kills and 12 digs. Ashlynn Kondra had eight kills and five digs. Diana Willingham dished out a team-high 17 assists and Eleyah Fale also had a fantastic game.
Homestead 3, Santa Clara 1
Homestead remained an undefeated 7-0 in league play after a 3-1 victory (25-17, 16-25, 26-24, 25-10) against Santa Clara. Freshman setter Lilian Logan had 30 assists and four aces, and senior Emily Su had eight kills on 12 attempts as an OH. Libero Ingrid Gomard had 27 digs for 12-5 Homestead, which improved to 4-0 on the road.
Hayward 3, Tennyson 0
Hayward coach Alisa Parsons said Monday’s victory (25-8, 25-7, 25-17) over Tennyson was a “serving game,” and that the Farmers got great service from seniors Emi Licea, Makayla Asoy, Leica Leonador and Rosalynn Jimenez. Parsons said the team got a boost with the return of senior outside hitter Isia Fonua, who had missed the past six weeks with an injury. Fonua and Licea led the team in kills. Evalynn Jimenez was a standout passer. Hayward improved to 8-4.
Mountain View 3, Monta Vista 1
Mountain View survived what coach Dave Winn called a “super flat” third set to take the 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-18, 15-25, 25-20). Mallory Berent led with 13 kills, and MV teammate Addy Kopp had nine kills while Mia Diego had six kills. Reigning Athlete of the Week Kendyll Winn and Hazel Nadeau had solid games on defense.
Gilroy 3, Oak Grove 1
Aside from a lopsided second match, Gilroy’s 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-8, 25-27, 29-27) over Oak Grove was competitive throughout. Sarah Porter led Gilroy with five kills, and freshman Sienna Schwinges had a team-high eight aces, while seniors Zaniah Haygood and Natalia Sandoval each had five. Bella Rodrigo tied Ava Hudnut for the Gilroy team lead with 11 assists.
Branham 3, Leland 1
Branham won the first two sets as the Bruins won a third game in a row and remained an unbeaten 7-0 in BVAL play. Andra Enache made plays all over, ending the night with 17 kills, six blocks and four aces. Brianna Dalzochio had eight blocks, and Athlete of the Week candidate Giselle Paedon had 16 kills and three aces. CC Bonnard had four blocks.
Los Altos 3, Gunn 0
Los Altos handed Gunn its second loss in as many days in a sweep. Coach Peter Kim said Ally Leong, outside hitter Josephine Wong, and middle blocker Ella McFarlane were among Los Altos’ standouts. It was a little bit of revenge for the 11-7 Eagles, who had been swept by Gunn in mid-September.
Freedom 3, Deer Valley 0
On the surface, Freedom’s sweep over Deer Valley (25-15, 25-16, 25-22) seemed nondescript. But Freedom coach Liz Rivas said the final set was challenge.
“We struggled in the last set making by silly unforced errors trailing by 3/4 points. I called a time out to help the girls rest and refocus. This helped us regain the momentum and regain the lead finishing in 3 sets.”
Kyla Powell led the team with 14 kills and seven aces. Junior Corrina Singleton had three aces, and Rivas said junior libero Nielly Cautiverio had an exceptional game after being called up from the JV team. Madison Perry and Lorelei Holder had three kills each.
Berean Christian 3, Alhambra 1
Berean Christian moved to 12-4 and improved to 5-0 in Diablo Athletic League play with a 3-1 victory over Alhambra. Sophomore Marley Seelye had 14 kills and four blocks, and Sophie Hall had 10 kills, 22 digs and six aces. Junior libero Megan Rost had 34 digs and outside hitter Annasophia Vranjes put up nine kills, 16 digs and five aces.
Saint Mary’s-Berkeley 3, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 1
The Panthers rallied after losing the first set and handed SPSV its eighth loss of the season with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-18) decision on Monday night. St. Mary’s coach Chris Martinez said setters Jae Vass and Lexi Madrigal played well, as did Ashley Taboada, Sasha Bartel, Kalaya Phung, London Crawford and Corinne Jones. He said junior Dallas Fa’fiu was a “blicken machine” as St. Mary’s improved to 13-6 on senior night.
Sobrato 3, Prospect 1
Sobrato is on a three-game winning streak after it defeated Prospect in four sets 22-25, 28-26, 21-25, 20-25. Prospect coach Linda Brooks said captain and senior libero Ingrid Thang had seven aces, and junior MH Sydney Slezak had 11 kills.
Lynbrook 3, Wilcox 0
Lynbrook swept Wilcox (25-17, 25-18, 25-16) on Monday night and improved to 12-4. Carrie Chern and Tanya Wang each had fantastic games, and senior co-captains Valerie Eng and Madison Badger led the way as usual for Lynbrook. Badger had eight kills and Eng had four digs and 25 assists. Lynbrook coach Hole Nguyen said Eng might not be the tallest player but adds a lot of value to the team. She has one of the quickest hands on the court.” Chern had six aces and Wang had a team-high 12 digs.
Menlo School 3, Notre Dame-San Jose 0
The Knights swept visiting Notre Dame-San Jose (25-8, 25-16, 25-21) in WBAL play Tuesday night. Senior outside hitter Cleo Hardin had 16 kills, and libero Ava Wang had five aces and 12 digs. Junior setter Lily Kautai handed out 34 assists. Senior Bella Chen smacked five blocks and seven kills, and junior Bryn Dombkowski added seven kills as Menlo School improved to 15-10.
Washington-Fremont 3, Irvington 0
Washington-Fremont hosted and defeated crosstown rivals Irvington (25-20, 25-16, 25-15) as coach Phap Phan’s Huskies improved to 13-5. Junior Sara Hashimi had 13 kills and two blocks, and sophomore OH Tarika Vishwas had 12 kills.
Originally published at Joseph Dycus