Tough Loss In Season Opener For Menlo College Volleyball

The Lady Oaks of Menlo College had a difficult time matching up against the Redwood grove-like front line of the Azuza Pacific Cougars, who won the season opener 3-0 Friday morning.

The Cougars dominated the first two sets by the scores of 25-11 and 25-14. And though the Lady Oaks fought back valiantly in front of the home crowd gathered at the Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton, they ultimately lost the final set 25-23.

Azuza Pacific, who entered the match ranked sixth nationally in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, extended their unbeaten streak to seven games this season with the win over Menlo College.

Friday's game marked the first game of the season for the Lady Oaks, who were not ranked in the preseason national top 25.

The Cougars dominated in front of the net, as the length of blockers Ariel Beestra, Christy Cain, Krista Brenner and Amy Alkazin played a leading role in the team's victory. Beestra, Cain and Brenner are all over six feet tall. Cain measures 6 feet, 4 inches, and Alkazin is a long and lanky 5 feet 10.

But the resilient Lady Oaks fought hard for the duration of the game, despite being physically overmatched. Freshman outside hitter Courtney Calicdan shined in her first game wearing the blue jersey for Menlo College. Again and again, she drove powerful spikes past the height of the Cougars' front line with grit to spare.
Calicdan, along with impressive freshman fellow Emma Oehler, will likely need to make an instant impact this season if the Lady Oaks hope to make it to the post season, as they did last year before losing in semi-finals of the California Pacific Conference tournament.

Another bright spot in Friday's game for the Lady Oaks was the play of middle blocker Briana Moreno around the net. The senior made a huge offensive contribution, despite being almost half a foot shorter than some of the opponents she matched up against.

The Cougars raced out to big, early leads in the first two sets, but the tide of momentum began to shift nearly halfway through the second set toward favoring the Lady Oaks.

Menlo College maintained that momentum and the team took its first lead toward the end of the third set. They then looked prepared to wrap up a victory and extend the game. But the stout defense of the Cougars eventually proved to be too much for the Lady Oaks to overcome, giving way to a close loss for the home team.

Looking forward, the schedule does not get much easier for the Lady Oaks early in the season. As they will match up Saturday at home against Oregon Tech, who are coming off an upset win against Fresno Pacific, the top ranked team in the nation going into the season.

Menlo College will then travel to Minnesota to play in the Concordia Tournament, where they will match up against the No. 9-ranked home team, then take on the preseason favorites from Fresno Pacific, followed by a match up against the No. 12 ranked team from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

The game Saturday begins at 6 p.m. in Haynes-Prim Pavilion on the campus of Menlo College, 1000 El Camino Real in Atherton.