Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low around 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low around 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Updated: April 11, 2026 @ 8:26 pm
Aragon’s Sophie Rubinstein splits the Half Moon Bay block for one of her match-high 14 kills as the Dons swept past the Cougars.
Half Moon Bay’s Kayla Andrew avoids the Aragon block for a kills during the Cougars’ loss to the Dons in a PAL Bay Division matchup.
Nathan Mollat/Daily JournalAs attention turns to volleyball league play, Aragon was already facing a sort of must-win game just two games into Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division play.
The Dons, the defending Bay Division co-champs with a 12-2 mark, were swept in their league opener by Menlo-Atherton and with a showdown with rival Hillsdale looming on Thursday, Tuesday’s match against visiting Half Moon Bay already had big ramifications.
And while the Cougars seemed much improved from last year’s 3-11 campaign, they still have a ways to go in 2023 as Aragon came away with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-11 win.
“Their program has come a long way,” said Aragon head coach Nettie Gennaro-Trimble. “All three of their programs (freshman, JV and varsity) played well today.”
The HMB freshman team won their match in three marathon sets, while the Aragon JV pulled out a hard-fought three-set win. It looked early on as if the HMB varsity squad was going to do the same as the Cougars jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first game. A serve long and out of bounds by the Cougars allowed the Dons to tie the score at 3-all, but a Gabby Harrison kill ignited a 6-0 run, with five different HMB players notching a kill. HMB eventually pushed its lead to 13-6 when Aaron Lester roofed an Aragon attack.
After that, however, the Dons found another gear. Aragon would go on to win 16 of the final 18 points to take the Game 1 victory, 25-18. It was a combination of attack and HMB errors that enabled the Dons to rally. Setter Hunter Kwon got things going with a quick kill, followed by another from Shannon Bullard. Natalie Huang had a cross-court kill to cut the Cougars’ lead to 14-13 and Sophie Rubinstein’s third kill of the set tied the match at 16-all. Cassandra McMillan ended the set with a roof block.
“I thought we started a little slow,” Gennaro-Trimble said. “But then we came together.”
Aragon started a little faster in Game 2, but HMB still grabbed an early lead. A kill from Ava Cardiel, a block for a point by Taylor Geranios and a service winner from Harrison turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
The Dons, however, did not let the Cougars lengthen the lead as much as they did in Game 1. When a HMB serve went into the net, the game was tied at 10-10.
For the second game in a row, the Dons took off from there, winning 16 of the next 22 points to pull out the 25-16.
It was in Game 2 that Rubinstein started getting hot for the Dons as she would finish with a match-high 14 kills.
“She’s a six-position player,” Gennaro-Trimble said, meaning Rubinstein rarely comes off the floor.
“She’s always been a good hitter. … Her volleyball IQ is high and we need that.”
In Game 3, the Dons put the pedal to the metal and blizted the Cougars. Aragon finally got off to a fast start and never let up. The Dons won six of the first seven points of the game and Rubinsten’s 12th kill of the match put the Dons up 16-3.
The only real question was if the Cougars would get to double-digit points as they trailed 22-7 late in Game 3. But kills from Cardiel and Harrison got HMB to nine points and an Aragon hitting error got the Cougars to 10. An ace from Kayla Andrew rounded out the scoring for the Cougars, with Aragon completing the sweep, 25-11.
“Aragon was pulling no punches,” said HMB head coach Mike Inglis. “I thought our defense was pretty solid, but [the Dons] weren’t making any mistakes.”
Sports Editor
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