Red-hot Mercy volleyball sweeps Crystal Springs

The difference has been the emergence of the youth movement, as evidenced in Tuesday’s sweep at Crystal Springs Uplands (1-3, 8-7). The Crusaders got several key contributions and exhibited an exceptional passing game, but no one was more prolific at net than freshman setter Becky Roos, who produced a match-high nine kills to front the 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 victory.

“She’s really great,” Mercy senior Alyssa Parodi said. “We’re happy to have her. You can put her anywhere. She’s so versatile.”

Indeed, the Crusaders are relying on a 6-2 offense, giving Roos a chance to show off that versatility. And this she is doing with a wrap on her right wrist, after breaking it in the spring while — get this — playing football.

Roos has rebounded from the injury nicely, just as Mercy has rebounded from dwelling in the doldrums of the WBAL cellar. The youth movement has been a major catalyst. Roos is the only freshman on the squad, though the Crusaders also carry five sophomores. Last year, the team started the season with no freshmen on the varsity roster, but that now-sophomore group led the Mercy freshman team to an 18-1 record.

Still, the Crusaders didn’t know exactly what to expect coming into this year. Head coach Nicole Rathman grew optimistic through the summer after seeing the talent among the turnout of several open gyms. And the optimism carried over to her squad.

“I definitely hoped [we’d be good] because I’m a senior,” Parodi said. “With these coaches, we can do anything. I hoped we would (be good) but now I know.”

Crystal Springs is no pushover on the court either. Despite getting out of the blocks in league play with just one win in four matches, the Gryphons are still 8-7 overall. And even with Mercy’s relative youth, Crystal Springs is even younger, carrying a majority of underclassmen on its roster with two sophomores and six freshmen.

“It’s been a struggle,” Gryphons head coach James Spray said. “I think because we’re a young team, we’re a little apprehensive.”

That apprehension showed Tuesday in the way of unforced errors. Crystal Springs challenged Mercy in each of the three sets, holding ties of 17-17 in each of the last two. But while the Gryphons racked up a slew of errors — committing 37 in the match — the Crusaders dazzled with fluid passing and front-court execution.

“We always talk about bettering our errors,” Mercy assistant coach Chris Balestrieri said. “We’re all about you make a mistake, you shake it off, you go on to the next one.”

But Mercy was fairly flawless, totaling just 13 errors in the match. While the Crusaders’ serve receive was not on the mark at times, the passing of Parodi and senior Louise Hardiman proved a cure all, as the two were able to distribute even the toughest of passes.

“It’s really just because we can read each other really well,” Parodi said. “It’s how we gel as a team and I think we’ve got that down really well.”

Game 1 was tied at 12-12 when the error dynamic came into play. Crystal Spring shot long for a hitting error to put Mercy up 13-12. Then sophomore Angel Letele reeled off six straight service points with kills from Parodi and Roos shuffled in with a pair of aces to put the set away.

In Game 2, the Gryphons led by as much as 13-10 — courtesy of one of sophomore middle Hannah Renert’s team-high six kills — and led as late as 17-15. But fueled by the front-row play of Roos, the Crusaders heated up and closed out the set on a 10-1 run. Roos notched five kills and an ace to force game point in the set.

Game 3 was another battle that showed Crystal Springs’ tenacity. Mercy jumped out to a 10-5 lead, but Crystal quickly chipped away and swung into the lead at 13-12 on back-to-back aces from senior Devon Pollack. With the game tied 17-17 though, Parodi answered back with consecutive aces to give Mercy the lead again.

Still Crystal Springs would not go away, proving inventive when setter Sage Shimamoto dumped her only kill of the match to tie it 19-19. But a three-point run by the Crusaders put them ahead for good, with Roos firing a right-side kill to force match point before a Crystal Springs error ended it.

“They’re probably the strongest team we’ve seen (this year),” Renert said of Mercy. “If not, one of the strongest — right up there with [King’s Academy].”

King’s Academy is the only other undefeated team through league play. Currently tied atop the WBAL Skyline Division standings with Mercy, the two teams face off Thursday in Sunnyvale at 5:45 p.m.

“We have our toughest test on Thursday,” Rathman said. “King’s is really good too. So we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

WBAL Foothill Division

Notre Dame-Belmont 3, Notre Dame-San Jose 0

NDB (3-0, 13-4) rolled to a 25-13, 25-20, 25-10 win over ND-SJ (1-2, 10-9). Senior outside hitters Katie Smoot and Tammy Byrne did their thing; Smoot fired a match-high 15 kills with two aces and two blocks, while Byrne racked up 13 kills, six digs and two aces. Junior libero Kat Ho totaled 12 digs and three aces.

Menlo 3, Sacred Heart Prep 1

The WBAL Foothill Division got a lot more interesting Tuesday as Menlo School (2-1, 15-5) earned a 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21 win over Sacred Heart Prep (2-1, 13-6), moving the archrivals into a tie for second place, one game behind first-place Notre Dame-Belmont.

The Knights were paced by 11 kills from sophomore Grace King and 10 kills from junior Ashley Dreyer, while libero Jessica Houghton totaled a match-high 23 digs. SHP outside hitter Cate Desler fired a match-high 14 kills, middle Natalie Zimits added 11 kills and five blocks, and setter Hailey Martella recorded a double-double with 31 assists and 12 digs.

PAL Bay Division

Menlo-Atherton 3, Hillsdale 1

The Bears (5-0 PAL Bay, 11-4 overall) bounced back after dropping the first set for a 25-27, 25-17, 25-9, 25-19 over Hillsdale (1-4, 5-11). The Knights were paced by Monica Schmidt’s 12 kills and McKenna Anderson added nine.

Carlmont 3, Burlingame 1

The Scots (3-2, 18-4) snapped Burlingame’s unbeaten league streak, topping the Panthers (4-1, 10-8) in four sets 25-21, 25-11, 20-25, 25-15. Carlmont was paced by another big-time performance by its big-time junior Maya McClellan, who hit .417 to total 27 kills while adding 14 digs, five aces and three blocks. Her younger sister, Morgan McClellan, notched a career-high 10 kills. Junior setter Sophie Srivastava scored a double-double with 43 assists and 12 digs.

Aragon 3, Terra Nova 0

The Dons (3-2, 6-10) have turned around their rough league start in a hurry, winning their third straight 26-24, 25-19, 25-23 over Terra Nova (2-3, 6-6). Senior outside hitter Melanie Moore paced Aragon with 11 kills.

PAL Ocean Division

Woodside 3, El Camino 0

The Wildcats (5-0 PAL Ocean, 10-7 overall) remain deadlocked atop the Ocean Division standings with unbeaten San Mateo, downing El Camino (0-5) in straight sets 25-19, 25-18, 25-15. Senior middle Claire Cicchetti paced Woodside with 11 kills and three blocks, and junior Jennifer Buja added seven kills and three blocks.

San Mateo 3, Capuchino 0

The Bearcats (5-0, 9-9) maintained their share of first place in the Ocean Division and evened up their overall record in the process with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-13 win over Capuchino (1-4, 2-8).

Westmoor 3, Mills 0

The Rams (4-1, 15-10) continued to roll with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 win over Mills (1-4, 2-6). Christina Chin and freshman Lydia Lee paced Westmoor with nine kills apiece. Lee added four service aces.