Ohlone Overcomes Feisty Los Medanos In Play-In

By Houakia Xiong
Special to Ohlone Athletics
FREMONT – The Ohlone women’s volleyball team has battled through injuries all season to set a program record for victories, and so it’s not surprising the Renegades overcame an unprecedented week of poor air to triumph again.

Ohlone, the 15 seed, swept upset-minded No. 18 Los Medanos 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 Monday night in a play-in game for the CCCAA Women’s Volleyball Regional Playoffs, earning a showdown with No. 2 Gavilan in Gilroy Tuesday in Round 1.
Everything about the build up to Monday’s match was atypical. Smoky air from the Camp Fire in Paradise prompted an Ohlone school closure and disrupted the team's practice routine.
"More than the injuries, this week was unprecedented with the fire and smoke,” Ohlone head coach Jeremy Penaflor said. “We couldn't hold practice on campus and practiced where we could, and I had to ask friends to see if we could practice at their facilities. We had just one practice (Sunday) before this game."
In a landmark season, Ohlone (22-8) has advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Sophomore Hailey Amaral led Ohlone with 11 kills against LMC. Sophomore libero Malia Silva led in digs with 20. Sophomore setter Katie Souza had 24 assists and eight digs, and sophomore middle blocker Carly Bond had a .444 hitting percentage.
After Los Medanos got off to a fast start, Ohlone showed its typical resolve, even overcoming atypical errors in the back-and-forth battle.
In the first set, Ohlone overcame a 12-8 deficit and nailed it down with a kill by Maddy McCallister.
"We came in strong to the game even though we had more errors than I expected,” Penaflor said. "The team was confident and relaxed considering we were out of routine this week. I'm happy about tonight's performance and we're ready for Gavilan."