ATHERTON, CA – Women's Volleyball outlasted the Jessup Warriors in five sets to get the win inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion. Defensively, the Oaks were the outliers tonight, totaling 12 blocks and 92 digs as a team. Amey Rainaud-Hinds continues to be in the top 5 leaderboards of the NAIA for digs per set!
Inspiring Win for Menlo
The Oaks were hungry to be back in the win column after breaking their 8-match winning streak to still undefeated Vanguard last match. The Jessup Warriors were next on the menu inside their home court of Haynes-Prim Pavilion. It was a defensive battle from both teams to take it to 5 sets. The Warriors took an early lead by earning the first set 22-25.
It was a side-out battle throughout the entire match. In the second set, there were 10 different ties. In the end, Menlo had two separate 4-point runs to pull ahead, thanks to 2 Julia Tena aces in the end, to take the set, 25-19. The third set began with a go-ahead 9-point run from Menlo to make the score 16-12. The last three kills in the set for the Oaks came from sophomore middle, Maya Saole-Su'e, to win 25-23. In the end of set 4, Jessup found a burst of energy, also mixed with silly errors from the Oaks, to force this match to five sets. Menlo held their composure to the end and found themselves in a 6-point run early in the final set. 3 of the 6 points came from Janet Moala blocks! Moala and Giulia Marinelli kills would seal the victory for Menlo, 15-7. It was not the prettiest night of volleyball for either side of the net, but one thing Menlo Women's Volleyball continues to prove is that they will fight until the very end.
Moala Leading Defensive Battle With 8 Blocks
Menlo outnumbered Jessup 12 blocks to 6 in the five sets played. Middle, Janet Moala, was part of 8 blocks, 2 of them being solo blocks. Maya Saole-Su'e also dominated at the net with 4 blocks and 5 kills. Paige Harmann ran the show with 21 assists, 15 digs, and an ace. Julia Tena had a stellar performance and kept the Oaks in the match adding 15 digs and 3 aces. Offensively, Giulia Marinelli led the team with 11 kills. Ayanna Barham also had herself a night with 10 kills and 5 blocks.
Amey Rainaud-Hinds was the backbone tonight for Menlo. She totaled 36 digs, 9 assists, 2 aces, and even a kill. Rainaud has proven to be a utility player with success at digging and setting for the Oaks. She is currently #1 in the GSAC with 371 digs and #2 with 6.29 digs per set. In the NAIA, Rainaud lands at #5 in digs per set and #6 in digs. Amey has continued in the top 5 leaderboards since week 1 of the season and at the rate she is performing at, she does not anticipate that changing anytime soon!
Up Next….
Menlo faces off inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion for another round of GSAC matchups next week. The first match will be against The Master's University on Friday, September 29 at 5pm!
