HALF MOON BAY, CA -- San Mateo visited Half Moon Bay in volleyball on Thursday night and the only thing for sure was that a team in black and orange would win. That team was Half Moon Bay, which prevailed 3-1 in the non-league match.
The scores were 25-18, 25-13, 16-25, 25-20.
“I’m happy,” said Half Moon Bay star Hailey Merkes. “I feel good about how we played. We played better in the first set than the others. We were playing loose (in the first set) – just having fun.”
Merkes’ kill put HMB on the cusp of a first-set win and then a San Mateo mis-hit ended the initial contest.
Half Moon Bay (5-2) led the second set 14-10 before scoring nine consecutive points to take control, 23-10. Still ahead 24-10, the Cougars put it away with a kill by junior middle Riley Donovan, better known for her softball excellence.
San Mateo showed some moxie, though, storming to a 14-7 lead in the third set on a kill by Emily Savage. Leading 24-16, the Bearcats recorded the se -winner on another Savage kill.
Half Moon Bay was clinging to an 18-17 lead in the fourth set when it scored six consecutive points with Bailey Steger serving. Merkes’ kill put HMB within one point of a victory. Donovan managed that with a well-placed kill.
“We played better than last game when we got embarrassed,” HMB’s McKenzie Mell said.
Said Cougars coach Ryan Havice: “We weren’t prepared Tuesday (against Los Gatos). It was my fault. Tonight we got back to business.”
Merkes led HMB with 16 kills and Mell had 11. Donovan paced the Cougars in the middle with eight kills and two blocks.
Savage led San Mateo with 11 kills and Alexa Carreon had eight kills and four blocks. Also for the Bearcats (1-3), Katrina Chen contributed 9 digs and Jazmine McDonald had 27 assists.
