Gators Get Groove Back in Nor Cal Volleyball Opener
Sacred Heart Prep 3, Del Oro 0
See Full Story
No. 3-seed SHP (26-8 overall) swept 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 past No. 15 Del Oro-Loomis (18-15) in the SHP Middle School gymnasium, the arena the Gators have called home all season while the high school gym is under construction.
Senior outside hitter Cate Desler — who was fighting a severe cold throughout CCS — was still contending with a mild cough, but endured more like the dominant terminator that earned her West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division Most Valuable Player honors, scoring a match-high 13 kills.
Also, junior opposite All Polverari returned to action for the first time since sustaining a concussion Oct. 26 in a WBAL match with Notre Dame-Belmont. Polverari didn’t play at all through the CCS tourney.
“Just dealing with a lot of sickness and minor injuries,” SHP head coach Ali Magner said. “It felt like everyone was back tonight and we had a full team.”
And the regulars that have been operating at full strength over the past few weeks shined even brighter as a result.
Senior setter Haley Martella was a catalyst in helping SHP find its footing early against an unknown Nor Cal opponent. (The only scouting the Gators did was watching YouTube videos of Del Oro’s heavy hitters prior to the match.) While setting and defensive statistics were not made available by SHP prior to press time, Martella surely lit in up in both assist and dig numbers, highlighted by two early defensive plays in Game 1
Martella’s first gem was a scrappy dig at middle net, a quick flick of the hand on a straight-down Del Oro attempt that allowed junior middle Alexa Barlett enough time for a frantic one-handed bump set to Desler, who delivered an attack that Del Oro ultimately did not return.
Then, later in the set to go up 9-6, the Gators had a dig go wayward toward an unmanned middle net, but Martella darted in with a knee slide to deliver a bump set for sophomore Reagan Smith. Once again, SHP sent a ball over the net that Del Oro could not return.
“Definitely because I’m smaller, people think they can take advantage of me and spin me around,” Martella said.
But Martella was unwavering, and set the tone for Del Oro’s error-prone night. The Golden Eagles committed 36 unforced errors in the match, including 13 in the opening set.
Martella said her defense has come a long way this season, much out of necessity. Last year in her first varsity season, she paired with now-graduated Alexa Thomson to run a 6-2 offense. This season, she’s the lone setter in a 5-1 attack.
“When we get the ball to [Martella], she can do really great things,” Desler said.
Martella hit the accelerator to her star attacker Desler when Desler rotated around her natural left side. With SHP up 20-13 in the opening set, Desler had only scored one kill. But she put down four of the Gators’ final five points to close out Game 1 with five kills.
Desler’s consistent night was complemented in Game 2 by the emergence of middle Elena Radeff and opposite Reagan Smith. Radeff and Smith scored two kills apiece in the set. Radeff went on to score seven match kills, with Smith totaling six kills and a block.
“Cate and I were on both pins, so [Martella] will mix up the sets for both of us,” Smith said. “So we get passes going and mix them up on the other side.”
Smith is another SHP player who has dealt with injuries. She missed time in the middle of the season with an injured ankle, and following Wednesday’s game she immediately checked in with the team trainer to have her back iced and wrapped. It’s been a hard-knock season for the 15-year-old sophomore, but she finished strong with four kills in Game 3 to help put the match away.
And while Polverari scored just one match kill in her return, her presence was key. And the Gators seem to expect more from her as they attempt to advance past the Nor Cal semifinals, the round in which they were eliminated last season. It was the deepest in the postseason Magner has seen the team advance in this her fourth season.
“[Polverari] is definitely a huge asset,” Martella said. “We definitely worked around it so other people stepped up. But it was nice having her back. She’s a huge component of our team.”
With the win, SHP advances to Saturday’s second round to host No. 6 Nevada Union in the SHP Middle School gym at 6 p.m.
Back
After hobbling through the Central Coast Section tournament to settle for Division IV runners-up, the Sacred Heart Prep Gators showed what they are capable of when they have all their weapons on the floor in Wednesday’s Northern California Division II opener.
No. 3-seed SHP (26-8 overall) swept 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 past No. 15 Del Oro-Loomis (18-15) in the SHP Middle School gymnasium, the arena the Gators have called home all season while the high school gym is under construction.
Senior outside hitter Cate Desler — who was fighting a severe cold throughout CCS — was still contending with a mild cough, but endured more like the dominant terminator that earned her West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division Most Valuable Player honors, scoring a match-high 13 kills.
Also, junior opposite All Polverari returned to action for the first time since sustaining a concussion Oct. 26 in a WBAL match with Notre Dame-Belmont. Polverari didn’t play at all through the CCS tourney.
“Just dealing with a lot of sickness and minor injuries,” SHP head coach Ali Magner said. “It felt like everyone was back tonight and we had a full team.”
And the regulars that have been operating at full strength over the past few weeks shined even brighter as a result.
Senior setter Haley Martella was a catalyst in helping SHP find its footing early against an unknown Nor Cal opponent. (The only scouting the Gators did was watching YouTube videos of Del Oro’s heavy hitters prior to the match.) While setting and defensive statistics were not made available by SHP prior to press time, Martella surely lit in up in both assist and dig numbers, highlighted by two early defensive plays in Game 1
Martella’s first gem was a scrappy dig at middle net, a quick flick of the hand on a straight-down Del Oro attempt that allowed junior middle Alexa Barlett enough time for a frantic one-handed bump set to Desler, who delivered an attack that Del Oro ultimately did not return.
Then, later in the set to go up 9-6, the Gators had a dig go wayward toward an unmanned middle net, but Martella darted in with a knee slide to deliver a bump set for sophomore Reagan Smith. Once again, SHP sent a ball over the net that Del Oro could not return.
“Definitely because I’m smaller, people think they can take advantage of me and spin me around,” Martella said.
But Martella was unwavering, and set the tone for Del Oro’s error-prone night. The Golden Eagles committed 36 unforced errors in the match, including 13 in the opening set.
Martella said her defense has come a long way this season, much out of necessity. Last year in her first varsity season, she paired with now-graduated Alexa Thomson to run a 6-2 offense. This season, she’s the lone setter in a 5-1 attack.
“When we get the ball to [Martella], she can do really great things,” Desler said.
Martella hit the accelerator to her star attacker Desler when Desler rotated around her natural left side. With SHP up 20-13 in the opening set, Desler had only scored one kill. But she put down four of the Gators’ final five points to close out Game 1 with five kills.
Desler’s consistent night was complemented in Game 2 by the emergence of middle Elena Radeff and opposite Reagan Smith. Radeff and Smith scored two kills apiece in the set. Radeff went on to score seven match kills, with Smith totaling six kills and a block.
“Cate and I were on both pins, so [Martella] will mix up the sets for both of us,” Smith said. “So we get passes going and mix them up on the other side.”
Smith is another SHP player who has dealt with injuries. She missed time in the middle of the season with an injured ankle, and following Wednesday’s game she immediately checked in with the team trainer to have her back iced and wrapped. It’s been a hard-knock season for the 15-year-old sophomore, but she finished strong with four kills in Game 3 to help put the match away.
And while Polverari scored just one match kill in her return, her presence was key. And the Gators seem to expect more from her as they attempt to advance past the Nor Cal semifinals, the round in which they were eliminated last season. It was the deepest in the postseason Magner has seen the team advance in this her fourth season.
“[Polverari] is definitely a huge asset,” Martella said. “We definitely worked around it so other people stepped up. But it was nice having her back. She’s a huge component of our team.”
With the win, SHP advances to Saturday’s second round to host No. 6 Nevada Union in the SHP Middle School gym at 6 p.m.
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12
