Athlete of the Week: Half Moon Bay's Hailey Merkes

Merkes was born and raised in the Bay Area, but both her parents are Alaskan natives. So, she and her father head north for one month out of the year to Scout Lake on the Kenai Peninsula to fish for sockeye salmon, silver trout and rainbow trout.

For the other 11 months on the calendar, however, Merkes dedicates herself to volleyball. A former gymnast who had to retire from the sport at age 12 because she was getting too tall, Merkes discovered volleyball through the tutelage of her mother Dawn, who excelled in the sport in high school.

Last week, Merkes led her Half Moon Bay squad to back-to-back wins to open Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play. In the Cougars’ league opener last Tuesday against Westmoor, Merkes totaled 20 kills and 22 digs. She followed that up with a 15-kill performance last Thursday against Capuchino.

For her outstanding start in PAL Ocean Division play, Merkes has been named the San Mateo Daily Journal Athlete of the Week.

Merkes has already garnered some interesting nicknames. In the volleyball world, some refer to her as “The ‘Blasta’ from Alaska.” Because of a comical picture she brought back from her most recent Alaskan fishing trip — in which she is dragging a fish by a string as if she’s taking it for a walk — some call her “The Fish Walker.”

Half Moon Bay assistant coach Susie Morasci refers to her star sophomore in more practical ways.

“She’s our go-to girl … and she’s a total gym rat,” Morasci said. “Practice ends at 7:30 and she’s always there until 8:00 or 8:30 working on some element of her game. The girl eats, sleeps and breathes volleyball.”

Sure enough, 30 minutes prior to the start of Monday’s practice at Half Moon Bay, Merkes had already worked up a feverish sweat. It’s just a day in the life for the sophomore, who plays year round. In addition to earning All-PAL Ocean Division honors as a freshman last season, she went on to play for the prestigious Vision 15-and-under team which went on to finish 15th at junior nationals in Minneapolis.

A six-rotation player at Half Moon Bay, Merkes played exclusively in the front row for Vision. She is currently 5-9, but hopes to grow a few more inches in the years to come. Still, she has served as a middle blocker on the club circuit since she took up with Burlingame’s First String club three years ago. It wasn’t until she debuted with the Cougars last season that she converted to outside hitter.

“My complete hitting form changed,” Merkes said. “So, it looks like I’m an outside hitter instead of a middle, because middles have a very distinct form when they hit. … (It’s beneficial) because it allows you to hit more back row. So, it’s better all around.”

With six sophomores in the Cougars mix — including Gabbi Cozzolino, who also played varsity as a freshman — the coaching staff is on a mission to balance the attack.

“We’re at the point now where we’re trying not to run our offense around [Merkes],” Morasci said. “We’re at the point where everybody knows her. But in a clutch moment, we’re going to set her.”

In addition to the fast PAL Ocean Division start last week, Half Moon Bay also won the silver bracket (fifth place overall) at the Irvington Varsity Volleyball Tournament over the weekend. Merkes totaled 53 kills and 44 digs through five tourney matches.