Athletes of the Week: Sacred Heart Prep's Cate Desler and Half Moon Bay's Hailey Merkes
Flying High is Nothing New to Outside Hitters Cate Desler and Hailey Merkes
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In SHP’s sweep of Terra Nova, Desler scored a match-high 15 kills while racking up a .542 hitting percentage, maintaining her ranking of 10th in the CCS in total kills. In HMB’s five-set win over Soquel, Merkes fired 20 kills to maintain her ranking second in CCS in the category.
And on the verge of the two dominant outside hitters meeting Wednesday in the CCS Division IV semifinals, the two have earned Daily Journal Co-Athlete of the Week honors.
Merkes may be flying higher than most on the heels of Half Moon Bay’s five-set win Saturday over Soquel. For the Cougars, it was their first CCS playoff appearance since 2010 and their first CCS playoff victory since 1998.
And for the fourth-year varsity senior, it means tight-knit HMB — with six seniors on roster, including Gabbi Cozzolino with whom Merkes has played all four years — lives to play another day on the varsity court.
It was a battle for the Cougars, who came back from a 2-sets-to-1 deficit. But those six seniors looked each other square in the eyes heading into Game 4 and realized a loss meant the end of not just their season, but of their HMB careers.
“I feel like everyone realized if we lose, this is our last game,” Merkes said. “So, instead of getting mad at each other, we were more encouraging of each other.”
For Desler and her Gators, the CCS playoffs are an annual event. The last time SHP didn’t qualify for the postseason was in 1999. And in her two previous seasons, Desler has two playoff wins to her credit, including the Gators advancing to the CCS Division IV semifinals last year where SHP was eliminated by eventual state champion Notre Dame-Belmont.
This year is a different deal though. With the inception of the CCS Open Division, powerhouse Notre Dame-Belmont along with Menlo School is playing there instead of the Division IV bracket. That leaves SHP owning the top seed in Division IV.
“It definitely is a good reassurance of how good we are this year,” Desler said. “We also just can’t take it for granted. We’ve put so much hard work in we can’t think we’re just going to slide through CCS. We’ve got to never give up … and keep pushing through to get as far as we can.”
SHP owns a deep well of talent. Finishing in third place in the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division — behind first-place NDB and second-place Menlo — the Gators still had the best blocking game in the league with Natalie Zimits and Samara Phillips ranking No. 1 and No. 8 respectively in CCS.
Then there is junior libero Caroline Caruso, who fired a career-high seven service aces in Saturday’s win. She also notched 15 digs, falling one shy of her season high.
The depth of talent made Desler realize SHP owned a winning formula, even with Notre Dame-Belmont transitioning to the WBAL Foothill Division from the West Catholic Athletic League to add extra competition this season.
“Once we started playing this season I realized how great of a team we are,” Desler said. “And even though Notre Dame is a great team with amazing players, we also have a great team and have a good chance to go as far as we did.”
Speaking of tough completion, Merkes is really keen on the matchup of her No. 4-seeded Cougars taking on the top-seed Gators.
“I feel like we’re motivated and we want to win,” Merkes said. “And I hope they do too. I hope we both bring our A-game so it will be a good game.”
It should be an interesting showdown considering the crazier the environment, the better Merkes seems to perform. In HMB’s regular-season finale rivalry game against Terra Nova two weeks ago, she rose to the rivalry occasion to match her career-high with 29 kills.
“She’s just laser focused,” HMB head coach Ryan Havice said. “And regardless of the situation, up by 10, down by 10, when she gets to hit she doesn’t waver. That’s just great to see and for the other kids to see. She’s not a talkative person … but she just imbues this natural confidence she has. And when she gets a chance for game point, she’s ready for it.”
SHP and HMB met earlier this season in non-league play with the Gators winning in four sets 25-21, 16-25, 25-19, 25-13. Desler had a team-high 10 kills while Merkes had the match-high 14 kills.
“I know it’s not going to be an easy match,” Havice said of the playoff rematch. “But we’re all looking forward to it.”
Back
Desler is a junior outside hitter at Sacred Heart Prep, Merkes a senior outside hitter at Half Moon Bay. Both rank in the top 10 among Central Coast Section kills leaders. And both are coming off victories in their respective CCS Division IV playoff openers over the weekend.
In SHP’s sweep of Terra Nova, Desler scored a match-high 15 kills while racking up a .542 hitting percentage, maintaining her ranking of 10th in the CCS in total kills. In HMB’s five-set win over Soquel, Merkes fired 20 kills to maintain her ranking second in CCS in the category.
And on the verge of the two dominant outside hitters meeting Wednesday in the CCS Division IV semifinals, the two have earned Daily Journal Co-Athlete of the Week honors.
Merkes may be flying higher than most on the heels of Half Moon Bay’s five-set win Saturday over Soquel. For the Cougars, it was their first CCS playoff appearance since 2010 and their first CCS playoff victory since 1998.
And for the fourth-year varsity senior, it means tight-knit HMB — with six seniors on roster, including Gabbi Cozzolino with whom Merkes has played all four years — lives to play another day on the varsity court.
It was a battle for the Cougars, who came back from a 2-sets-to-1 deficit. But those six seniors looked each other square in the eyes heading into Game 4 and realized a loss meant the end of not just their season, but of their HMB careers.
“I feel like everyone realized if we lose, this is our last game,” Merkes said. “So, instead of getting mad at each other, we were more encouraging of each other.”
For Desler and her Gators, the CCS playoffs are an annual event. The last time SHP didn’t qualify for the postseason was in 1999. And in her two previous seasons, Desler has two playoff wins to her credit, including the Gators advancing to the CCS Division IV semifinals last year where SHP was eliminated by eventual state champion Notre Dame-Belmont.
This year is a different deal though. With the inception of the CCS Open Division, powerhouse Notre Dame-Belmont along with Menlo School is playing there instead of the Division IV bracket. That leaves SHP owning the top seed in Division IV.
“It definitely is a good reassurance of how good we are this year,” Desler said. “We also just can’t take it for granted. We’ve put so much hard work in we can’t think we’re just going to slide through CCS. We’ve got to never give up … and keep pushing through to get as far as we can.”
SHP owns a deep well of talent. Finishing in third place in the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division — behind first-place NDB and second-place Menlo — the Gators still had the best blocking game in the league with Natalie Zimits and Samara Phillips ranking No. 1 and No. 8 respectively in CCS.
Then there is junior libero Caroline Caruso, who fired a career-high seven service aces in Saturday’s win. She also notched 15 digs, falling one shy of her season high.
The depth of talent made Desler realize SHP owned a winning formula, even with Notre Dame-Belmont transitioning to the WBAL Foothill Division from the West Catholic Athletic League to add extra competition this season.
“Once we started playing this season I realized how great of a team we are,” Desler said. “And even though Notre Dame is a great team with amazing players, we also have a great team and have a good chance to go as far as we did.”
Speaking of tough completion, Merkes is really keen on the matchup of her No. 4-seeded Cougars taking on the top-seed Gators.
“I feel like we’re motivated and we want to win,” Merkes said. “And I hope they do too. I hope we both bring our A-game so it will be a good game.”
It should be an interesting showdown considering the crazier the environment, the better Merkes seems to perform. In HMB’s regular-season finale rivalry game against Terra Nova two weeks ago, she rose to the rivalry occasion to match her career-high with 29 kills.
“She’s just laser focused,” HMB head coach Ryan Havice said. “And regardless of the situation, up by 10, down by 10, when she gets to hit she doesn’t waver. That’s just great to see and for the other kids to see. She’s not a talkative person … but she just imbues this natural confidence she has. And when she gets a chance for game point, she’s ready for it.”
SHP and HMB met earlier this season in non-league play with the Gators winning in four sets 25-21, 16-25, 25-19, 25-13. Desler had a team-high 10 kills while Merkes had the match-high 14 kills.
“I know it’s not going to be an easy match,” Havice said of the playoff rematch. “But we’re all looking forward to it.”
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
