BY STEPHEN LYNCH
The Mira Monte High School volleyball team didn’t play up to its own lofty standards against East High on Tuesday night.
Even so, the Lions were able to put together a good enough performance to continue their streak of dominance over Southeast Yosemite League opponents.
Mira Monte overcame a mundane start and rallied to defeat the host Blades 19-25, 25-15, 25-14, 25-19 in the SEYL season opener for both teams.
Emily Hernandez tallied 12 kills and five blocks to lead the Lions to their 13th straight SEYL victory.
“We started off pretty slow, but I know my team and we’ll pull through, through any game,” Hernandez said. “We always play hard. And we didn’t give up so that’s pretty good.”
After struggling with its serving and serve receiving in losing the first set, Mira Monte (12-9-2, 1-0 SEYL) dominated the next two sets before winning a hard-fought Game 4.
“They kind of played a little tired,” Mira Monte coach Jenae Long said. “That’s not the team we know them to be. But at the end of the day they dug deep. We pulled off a win and we had a couple of girls who really shined tonight, which is pretty exciting to see.”
Attempting close out its third straight win against East, the Lions trailed 18-16 in the fourth set. But after calling a timeout, Mira Monte went on a match-ending 9-1 run, that featured five Blades attack errors.
Hernandez put an emphatic end to match with a block of a hard kill attempt by East’s Destiny Ayala.
It was a rare missed opportunity by the Blades athletic middle hitter, who finished with five kills, two blocks, and four aces.
Ayala had two kills and two blocks to help East (9-9-2, 0-1 SEYL) take advantage of Mira Monte’s lackluster effort in Game 1.
The Lions played much better in Games 2 and 3. A big reason for that was their decision to focus on utilizing the extensive hitting ability of the tall and talented Hernandez. Mira Monte setter Samara Bolanos continually fed the ball to the senior middle blocker, who consistently pounded it to the floor with hard, accurate spikes.
“I like taking control over the net and being able to make a lot of points for my team,” Hernandez said.
East coach Johnitta Clemons felt that Hernandez’s impact on the match went beyond the physical aspect of her play. Hernandez’s presence at the net was mentally disconcerting for the Blades.
“She’s so dynamic I think it shook my youngers girls a little bit, initially when she got started,” Clemons said.
Game 4 was a see-saw battle, that had five lead changes prior to the Lions surging ahead and securing the win with a strong finish.
“I mixed up my lineup a little bit for Game 1,” Long said. “We went back to an original lineup for Games 2, 3, and 4. We’re still trying to figure out who meshes with who. I know it’s halfway through the season, starting league, but we’re still shuffling players around to find that leadership spot.”
Bolanos finished with 16 assists and 14 digs. Esmeralda Vasquez had seven kills and Samantha Perez recorded 28 digs for Mira Monte, which is aiming for a third straight SEYL championship this year.
The Lions didn’t lose a single SEYL match in 2018. Two years ago, they went 7-1 in SEYL matches and finished tied atop the league standings with North.
“We know every single game, every single team in our league is trying to take us from the top,” Long said. “It is their goal to take us down. We need to play like everybody is out to get us. I don’t think we played like that tonight. We’re going to hit the court. Work on some things. Work on parts of our game. Hopefully come back and play much better against Highland on Thursday.”
East finished tied for second in the SEYL last season. However, the Blades lost nine players to graduation.
A lack of experience hurt East on Tuesday night, according to Clemons.
“I thought they played well, but we have a lot of young players and composure is an issue as they’re growing,” Clemons said. “I saw some improvements in a lot of areas, but experience is important. As we grow, I expect to cover those things.”
