Two San Mateo County rivalries loom large in volleyball league races

Both teams run two-setter systems, with Menlo touting senior Hanna Hoffman, a Boston College commit, who plays six rotations while complemented by senior setter Zoe Gregory.

SHP has weaponized setter Millie Muir, committed to Duke University, who takes swings off the outside along with fellow six-rotation setter Isabelle Marco.

“I like the way [Muir] plays,” Menlo head coach Tony Holland said. “I like the way she motivates her team. I think she is a big source of inspiration … much like Hanna is for us.”

Nothing inspires Menlo quite like its WBAL matchups with SHP over the years. The Lady Knights have long ruled the rivalry, boasting a 16-9 overall record against the Gators going back to 2011. That year is significant, as it is the last time SHP won the WBAL Foothill title outright.

But not a year has gone by where the Knights haven’t beaten the Gators at least once. That includes 2011, when SHP led the league with a 9-1 record, its only WBAL loss coming at the hands of Menlo. The last time SHP swept a season series from Menlo was in 2010.

“We’re ready for [Thursday], and that’s what we’re focused on,” SHP head coach Allison Magner said. “Not the last eight years.”

The young Gators have reason to be excited about their chances this season. Muir is one of just five seniors on the 13-player roster, but SHP has amassed a 13-1 overall record. And one of the team’s long-term goals is most certainly taking a shot at that elusive WBAL crown.

“Yeah, always,” Magner said. “We have very high goals and we’re certainly looking to achieve them one at a time. But it’s like we told the girls, it’s one day at a time.”

While the Gators are on the right track in winning their first three league matches, things got off to a shaky start in their WBAL opener Sept. 16 at Harker. SHP has dropped just one set over those three victories, that being a 26-24 wakeup call in the opening set against Harker. The Gators went on to win the match 24-26, 25-6, 25-11, 25-18.

Magner said SHP’s serve receive was out of sorts in that opening set, allowing Harker to get on a roll.

“Serve receive is certainly one of those points our team consistently improves,” Magner said “And that’s all you can ask for. We’re doing a much better job of not allowing runs.”

Holland said he has been impressed from what he’s seen in SHP’s tempo off the serve receive this season.

“It’s good,” said Holland, whose Knights have won four straight to open their WBAL slate. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us [Thursday] night.”

HMB, Terra Nova rivalry in PAL Ocean spotlight

Another Thursday rivalry matchup with first-place implications will be in the spotlight when Half Moon Bay travels to Terra Nova.

The archrivals are currently tied atop the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division standings with similar 6-0 league records. The HMB Cougars are riding the hotter hand, though, having won 12 straight overall matches that started Sept. 4 with a 4-1 run at the Rancho Cotate Tournament.

HMB head coach Ryan Havice currently has two winning teams on his hands. In addition to the Cougars, Havice is in his first full seasons as an assistant coach at College of San Mateo, where the Lady Bulldogs are off to a 9-3 start. And the Cougars, for one, benefitted from keeping active on the beach during the height of the COVID pandemic.

“They either came in a lot better or a lot worse, and we as a community, we lucked out because we have the beach out here,” Havice said. “So, a lot of kids got into beach volleyball.”

And while HMB played just a handful of matches in the spring during the abbreviated 2020-21 PAL volleyball season, it was still included a significant win. Havice, who took over the varsity program in 2014, had never previously coached HMB to a win over Carlmont. That changed May 5 when the Cougars defeated the Lady Scots in four sets.

The truncated season has also paid dividends in experience, with just six seniors on the 17-player roster.

“With the abbreviated spring season and the amount of time off, there was definitely a changing of the guard,” Havice said. “We have a big group of juniors, and they were all on varsity during the spring season. So, as sophomores, they got a nice little leg up.”

Sophomore outside hitter Mia Etheridge has been HMB’s top player this season, but Havice said the depth has been a key component to keeping the Cougars rolling.

“[Etheridge] is like the total package for our program but, after that, it’s up in the air,” Havice said. “It’s just a matter of who’s going to take advantage of what they get. And if someone’s hot, we’re going to run with it.”