M-A repeats as PAL Bay volleyball champs

Bears team captain Marit Hoyem scored the final point in a contentious four-set battle, wielding a mighty block off middle to finish off a 25-23, 25-32, 28-30, 25-22 victory. With M-A outside hitters Emma Spindt and Natalie Grover bombing away all night, Hoyem shored up the middle with a match-high six blocks, including the decisive roof.

“It’s awesome,” Hoyem said of closing out the match. “And it’s really easy to feed off the team’s energy because I’m only on for three rotations. So, I really feed off the energy my team has already established when I come on. And it’s really easy to make big plays like that when everybody is hyping you up and giving you a lot of energy.”

With the win, M-A (11-1 PAL Bay, 20-5 overall) clinched at least a share of its second straight Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division championship. With second-place Aragon (9-3, 21-10) entering the night one game back in the standings, the Bears now hold a two-game lead with two matches to play.

M-A can wrap up the league title outright with wins in either of its final two league matches against Terra Nova or San Mateo, two teams that entered the week with a cumulative record of 2-20.

“M-A has always been first in our league,” Aragon senior Lolo Folau said. “We’ve always come in second just right behind them. … We really, really wanted to win to at least be tied for first in our league because they’ve been in first for so many years. We just wanted to break that.”

Folau and the Dons enjoyed a fiery start, with the senior outside hitter recording two early blocks to help Aragon to a 14-9 lead in Game 1. M-A, though, called a timeout and calmly retooled its attacking lines, and quickly turned things around. Using a variety of off-speed swings, the Bears went on a 6-0 run to jump out front 15-14.

“Just settling down,” Hoyem said of the thing that righted the ship for M-A. “It’s always really competitive when we play them. They’re a really big, physical team. They’re super talented. So, just calming down for a second, reminding each other to mix up our shots. … And people were just a lot more confident after that.”

Grover and Spindt each racked up five kills in the set. And Grover dazzled in the back row as well, picking up two critical digs late, including at 23-23 by getting under an Aragon bolt; the Dons would get one more attack during the rally, but Hoyem met it to score a block to force set point. The Dons ended with their ninth unforced error of the set.

Aragon turned up the heat in Game 2, overcoming a 16-13 deficit to take a 21-20 lead on a Folau fade off the left side. M-A junior middle Julia Kahle fired back with a block, though, and Hoyem scored an ace to give the Bears a 23-22 lead. Grover finished off the set with a kill from the pipe.

But Aragon’s vaunted back row, anchored by libero Ally Thaw and defensive specialist Dylan Scherer, stayed on point to help the Dons avoid the sweep with a Game 3 win.

“I thought they did very well,” Aragon head coach Annette Gennaro said. “They fought. … Every game was a fight — [25-23, 25-23] and then we win one. We know we’re a good defensive team and that’s what pushes our offense is when we have a good defense. … M-A is a very good team and we were able to hold with them. We just couldn’t pull off that next set to get to five.”

M-A seemed in great shape, with Hoyem scoring back-to-back blocks as the Bears built a 19-13 lead in Game 3. But the Dons punched back, ultimately tying it at 21-21 on an ace by Lydia Manu. Then Folau — who finished with a team-high 13 kills — and sophomore outside hitter Suliana Tongamoa threaded some tight angles in extra points, with Tongamoa closing out the 30-point victory with a roll shot off the left side.

“Super excited,” Folau said of the Game 3 win. “We wanted to keep the energy on our side, especially after going 30 points. … So we were really excited to get them to a fourth set.”

M-A’s firepower simply proved too deep though. Spindt finished with a match-high 21 kills, while Grover added 19.

Aragon kept the pressure up, tying it 21-21 on a block by junior middle Ella Sears. But with the decisive set tied 22-22, M-A finished on a 3-point run, with Hoyem’s eighth match kill forcing match point to set her up for the roof to close it out.

“We’re so lucky to have such a deep bench,” Hoyem said. “… We have so many people that can contribute. So, it makes everyone’s job a lot easier knowing we’re always going to mix it up and it doesn’t always rest on the shoulders of like three people. We’re confident everyone can contribute, and they do.”