ATHERTON, CA – Women's Volleyball opened Week 4 of GSAC play with a match against The Master's University on Friday night. Menlo took the first two sets by the same scores of 25-18. The Mustangs and Oaks battled back and forth in the third set to fall in the Master's direction, 23-25. The fourth set was a sequence of long rallies and great defense on both sides of the court. In the end, Menlo pulled off the four set win, 26-24. Menlo is now 5-1 in GSAC play and faces off with Life Pacific next, who is 2nd in the conference standings after beating Jessup in 5 sets. Saturday's matchup will determine who will secure the second place spot in the GSAC, just behind undefeated Vanguard.
Long Rallies Result in Favor of Menlo
It was within close margins the entire match between the Oaks and the Mustangs. Strong defense from both Liberos revived many of the points to last for long periods of time. Menlo took the first set after an Ayanna Barham solo block to end it 25-18. The Oaks had a 7-point run in the second set to go up 21-15. Three Maya Saole-Su'e kills would seal the second set win by the same score of 25-16. The third set was much closer and Menlo was able to tie the set at 23-23 before the Master's took it, 23-25. In similar style, the fourth set was tied for most of the set until the very end where Menlo came from behind with a 4-point run. Ayanna Barham finished with a kill to win the set, 26-24.
A side by side comparison between the two GSAC teams shows similar numbers but falling in favor of the Oaks offensively. Menlo landed 54 kills against the Mustang's 40 kills. Paige Harmann added 21 of the Oaks 51 assists in the four sets. The Master's were only able to set 37 assists. Amey Rainaud-Hinds had 28 of Menlo's 74 digs of the night. It was most certainly a close match up, but Menlo had the ability to finish the sets on a high note each time.
Saole-Su'e Hit .706% Against the Mustangs
Maya Saole-Su'e landed 12 kills for a .706 hitting percentage, a season high and team high for the sophomore out of Kapolei, Hawaii. Saole-Su'e also added 2 digs, an assist and 2 aces to be the Oaks points leader of the night. Ayanna Barham also had some incredible plays tonight adding 9 kills, 6 digs, a block assist, and 2 solo blocks. Paige Harmann was the assist leader with 21 assists, 7 digs, and a kill. Amey Rainaud-Hinds totaled 28 digs and was the reason Menlo stayed alive during the long rallies. Rainaud also set 6 assists and had an ace. Amey is now at 399 digs this season coming in at #1 in the GSAC. She is also #6 in the NAIA with 6.33 digs per set. Rainaud has clinched the #6 leaderboard spot ongoing almost 6 weeks now!
Up Next….
The Oaks compete for the second place standing in the GSAC tomorrow, Saturday, September 30th at 2pm against Life Pacific. This match up will determine the fate of the GSAC the rest of the tail end of conference play!
