Menlo College Women’s Volleyball sweeps Day One of William Jessup Invitational

Photo, Recap Credit: Menlo College

ROCKLIN, Calif. – The 2017 season got off to about as good of a start as possible for Menlo College Women's Volleyball. Led by new Head Coach Denise Sheldon, the Oaks opened up the campaign in Rocklin, the home of the William Jessup Warriors, who were hosting the William Jessup Invitational. The two-day event will see the Oaks play four matches to begin their season, with the first two against Bethel College and St. Katherine College. Menlo seemed in midseason form, taking both matches in straight sets to open up the season a perfect 2-0.

Menlo vs. Bethel College (25-17, 25-16, 25-21). 

The Oaks began their season in convincing fashion, taking down the Pilots in straight sets to earn their first victory of 2017. The opening set was well-played on both sides, and became more competitive the deeper the match went. Bethel College actually opened the first set with a 10-8 lead, but Sierra Buscher led a run that put the Oaks in front. Menlo took the next six points, thanks in large part to four-consecutive kills from Buscher that swung momentum completely over to the Oaks side. A Kenzie Carpenter kill capped off the rally and put the Oaks up 14-10. The Pilots held their own to keep the score close going down to the wire, with the Oaks holding on to a 17-16 lead late in the set. Menlo proceeded to take eight of the final nine points, with two more kills from Buscher, and the final two points being earned on service aces from Carpenter.

The lead was more steady in the second set, where Menlo never trailed by more than one point in the early stages. A pair of kills by Bailey Gamez and Moea Kekauoha helped give the Oaks a 12-8 lead at the midway point. Maggie McDonald chipped in with three kills of her own to extend the lead to five points, at 18-13. Another kill from Buscher put a bow on the second set at 25-16, one of 11 kills from Buscher in the opening match.

The Oaks never trailed in the third set, and with Monica Hruby on the serve pulled out in front to a 6-0 advantage. Five of the points were earned via attack errors from the Pilots, but the kills started rolling in later in the set. McDonald continued to play well in the opener with the first two kills of the set for Menlo. Bethel College just would not go away in the third set, desperately trying to force a fourth set. After taking five of six points late in the set to make it a 20-18 Menlo lead, the another McDonald kill led both teams into a timeout that was opportunistic for the Oaks. Jade Rockwood was back to serve and after an attack error got the Oaks a 22-18 lead, Rockwood fired off back-to-back aces to put the Oaks one point away from a sweep. It would eventually come in the form of a kill from Emily Sunada, and the Oaks earned the 25-21 win.
 
Menlo vs. St. Katherine College (25-11, 25-15, 25-22)

After a break in between sets, the Oaks came out fresh against a St. Katherine squad that had already played two matches on the afternoon. Despite the opening set being close for the first thirteen points (St. Katherine led 7-6), the Oaks rattled off a run for the ages. Menlo tallied a whopping 16 of the next 17 points, with the lone St. Katherine point coming on a defensive mistake. Emily Sunada and Sierra Buscher were the ones serving for the Oaks during this impressive run, with the two combining for six service aces. A couple of late kills from Moea Kekauoha and newcomer Jaden Scott iced the first set at 25-11.

The Oaks again could not pull ahead early against St. Katherine in set two, knotted up in a battle that saw the two sides trade points en route to an 11-11 tie. This is again when the Oaks would pull ahead and take command of the set, led by some killer serving from Jade Rockwood. She was back to serve when the Oaks scored six consecutive points, forcing St. Katherine to make a bevy of substitutions. Lucyanna Herrera got in on the action as well, tallying a pair of service aces, and suddenly the Oaks were up 21-12 before a timeout. Kills from Maggie McDonald and Kenzie Carpenter sealed the deal in the set, with a 25-15 win.

St. Katherine was oh so close to pulling away with a victory in the third set, but the Oaks impressed in come-from-behind fashion. Menlo fell down by as many as seven points early, trailing 10-3, and then by as many as eight points late in the match, down 20-12. Monica Hruby went back to serve to try and get some momentum back on Menlo's side and did just that by scoring four straight points. St. Katherine still led 22-18 and just needed a few more points to force a fourth set. Alas, Menlo fired off the final seven points of the set and won 25-22, thanks to the serves of Kekauoha and a pair of big kills from Buscher.

The Oaks will take their unbeaten mark into Day Two of the William Jessup Invitational, with two more matches on the line. Menlo will take on Life Pacific College at 11:00 AM, and then after a short break they will play University of Antelope Valley at 3:00 PM.