In a down-to-the-wire match, the visiting Menlo volleyball team fell to second-seeded Menlo-Atherton 21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13 in the first round of the CIF Div. I NorCal Championships on Tuesday.
Menlo (18-14), seeded 15th, jumped out of the gates quickly overturning the second-seeded Bears in Set 1 with junior Roxy Karrer getting five of her team-high 17 kills. Karrer hit .548 for the night. Sophomore Sharon Nejad added four kills in the first set, and finished with 15 kills for the night.
In the final set, Menlo-Atherton jumped ahead to an 8-3 then held on until Menlo started to climb back. With M-A leading 12-8, freshman middle Emma Donley delivered a kill from sophomore setter Hanna Hoffman. Donley then out up a block to close the lead 12-10. A Bears return error made it 13-11 and freshman Havannah Hoeft’s kill brought the Knights to within one. Nejad added another kill but M-A’s senior outside hitter Natalie Grover put the Bears up 14-12. Menlo would inch with one again at 14-13 with a kill by Karrer, before M-A closed out the match.
Hoeft amassed 27 assists and six kills and Hoffman contributed 25 assists, 10 digs and four kills. Senior libero Abby Holleran had 18 digs and three aces while senior Emma Holland had 12 digs.