Varsity girls volleyball wins big in first postseason appearance since 2015

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Anya Gert (11) hits the ball over the net. “[CCS] is nerve-wracking, so I know [the team] was nervous and had the jitters,” Smith said. “We came in early and actually warmed up early so we could get some of that stuff out. I was a little worried about where [the team] would be mentally, but I think we handled ourselves pretty well.”

by Aditya Singhvi, Sports Editor

In their first postseason appearance since 2015, the varsity girls volleyball team won a blowout 25-13, 25-17, 25-12 victory over the Marina High Mariners at home Saturday, advancing to the Central Coast Section (CCS) quarterfinals and bringing their overall record to 15-11.

After drawing the fourth seed in the CCS tournament, the Eagles secured the chance to host the 16-8 Mariners in the Zhang Athletic Center. The athletic department sponsored entry fees for faculty and students who checked in at the door.

Harker controlled the first set from beginning to end, establishing a solid lead early in the game. Despite some signs of resistance from the Mariners, the Eagles went on a 7-1 rampage that brought the score to an insurmountable 18-8. They finally closed out the set at 25-13, thanks to a few excellent blocks from the Eagles.

The second set started off much more closely, with the Eagles and Mariners trading leads until the score was tied at nine points each. Harker then heated up and, with adept serving and hitting from Michelle Ning (10), developed a small advantage that they gradually expanded as they took the set 25-17.

The third and final set began with a fierce 8-1 run by the Eagles, forcing the Marina coaches to call a timeout. The Marina comeback proved too little, too late, however, as Harker took the third set 25-12 and won the match three sets to none. The Eagles’ substantive lead in the third set also allowed all sixteen girls to play, providing them with valuable on-court CCS experience.

“We had the opportunity to get everybody on the floor so that everybody could be a part of [the game],” volleyball head coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith said. “That is usually the best chemistry, when everyone is contributing to the success of the team, so that was the best thing about today.”

The girls had not qualified for a CCS post-season match since 2015, so this was the first playoff game for most of the team.

“[CCS] is nerve-wracking, so I know [the team] was nervous and had the jitters,” Smith said. “We came in early and actually warmed up early so we could get some of that stuff out. I was a little worried about where [the team] would be mentally, but I think we handled ourselves pretty well.”
Although Harker won a dominant victory, the team will continue to try to improve throughout the postseason.

“I think we played decently well, enough to win, but we definitely could have played better and definitely need to step up our game for future CCS games where teams are getting eliminated so the competitions getting a lot harder,” Emily Cheng (11), a setter on the team, said. “Overall, I’m still really proud of our team and how we competed.”

The Eagles also won their quarterfinal matchup against Mercy-Burlingame 25-15, 25-18, 25-14 tonight. Thy will play Santa Cruz, who upset first seed Carmel in the quarterfinals, at Menlo on Thursday for a spot in the finals.