San Marino High girls’ volleyball looked to keep the momentum going against Temple City after the Titans’ beat Monrovia in their Rio Hondo home opener. With the aim of a top three finish in league play, SMHS was ready for visiting Temple City, which is also vying for a spot near the top.
Against the Rams, San Marino kept every game close and battled hard, but was unable to top Temple City and their dynamic star Taylor Yu, falling 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 in Rio Hondo action on Thursday, Sept. 21.
“I thought our girls stuck up for San Marino girls’ volleyball and did a really good job competing,” Titan coach Angel Ramirez said.
Temple City (9-2 overall, 2-2 Rio Hondo League) rode the dominant play of Yu, a hard-hitting senior who will be continuing her education and playing career next year at Stanford. Yu racked up 34 kills, while no other Ram had more than two. Temple City relied on the senior throughout, setting her up for kills regardless if she was in the front or back row, and she routinely made good on her chances.
“[Taylor Yu] is type of player where she can pass the ball perfect every time. She’s also the kind of player that can get into the attack every time she is set,” Ramirez said.
San Marino (10-12, 1-2) was led on the attack by Tessa Kackstetter, who had seven kills and three aces.
“They are scrappy,” Temple City coach Nathan Yu said of the Titans. “Tessa is a pretty solid player. She’s a middle, so obviously, she’s limited in what they can give her, but she is a pretty solid player. The rest of them are complimentary parts that do their jobs.”
Titan Sydney Park contributed six kills and two aces. Malia Yu had four kills and an ace. Chloe Wang chipped in three kills, while Audrey Hoffman had two kills and two aces. Maddy Tang had a single kill.
Game one was tight throughout and was tied eight separate times. This included at every number from five to 11, a span in which the Titans took the lead by one three times. The final deadlock was 20-20 following back-to-back kills by Malia Yu and Kackstetter. However, the Rams scored the next three points, starting with a kill from the outside by Taylor Yu. The score was then 23-21 after a Ram service error, but Taylor Yu finished the Titans off in the opener after that with an emphatic kill in the middle, followed by a touch shot from the outside to set the final margin, which equaled the largest lead of game one for the visitors.
Game two saw the Rams go up by five early, but the Titans caught up. The game was tied seven times, including at every number from 10 to 15. In that span, the hosts took the lead three times, the first time at 12-11 after a kill from the outside by Park, who then pushed it to a two-point advantage by following up with an ace that pushed through the tape atop the net before falling to the court. Taylor Yu quickly erased the Titan cushion with consecutive kills from her position in the back row. The Titans caught up again at 21-21 following a mishit by Temple City after a kill by Malia Yu from the back row and one from Park on the outside. Tang made a block in the middle, putting the Titans up 22-21, but Taylor Yu responded with back-to-back kills. After that, a Temple City block, followed by a Titan hit into the net, finished the game at 25-22 for the visitors.
Temple City never trailed in game three, although the Titans tied it twice in the early stages. The Ram lead expanded to its peak of six for the first time at 12-6 following three consecutive aces by Kaitlin Kong. After that, the final game was never closer than two points and ended on a three-point run by the Rams to seal the match victory.
The teams will play again at Temple City in the Titans’ regular season finale on Oct. 10.
“I think we are definitely right there. I think we have the potential to do it,” Kackstetter said of the rematch to come with the Rams. “There are just small errors on our side that mess us up, but if we play together more and work out the little mistakes we have in our communication, I think we can definitely put up a good fight against them and maybe win.”
SAN MARINO 3,
MONROVIA 1
The Titans defeated visiting Monrovia in four games, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, in a league match on Sept. 19.
SMHS junior Chloe Wang racked up 20 assists, 13 digs, six kills and two blocks, senior Malia Yu collected 25 digs, 10 kills, one ace and one assist, and senior Tessa Kackstetter contributed 14 kills, three aces, three digs and three blocks. Sophomore Sydney Park finished with 22 digs, seven kills and three aces, senior Aubrey Wendling tallied 15 digs, three assists and two aces, and senior Mira Emamaullee produced 11 assists and two digs. Sophomore Audrey Hoffman recorded nine kills, six digs, one ace and one block, sophomore Maddy Tang had four blocks, one kill and one dig, and sophomore Lauren De Los Santos registered three assists and one ace.
CRESCENTA VALLEY TOURNAMENT
SMHS competed in the two-day Crescenta Valley Tournament between Sept. 22 and 23 and finished with a 2-5 record after losing to Cleveland High of Reseda, 25-23, 24-26, 15-17, in a consolation match.
Wang finished with 23 assists, nine digs and six kills, while Hoffman contributed 10 kills, four digs and two blocks. Yu tallied 15 digs and six kills, Park produced 15 digs, four kills and one block, and Wendling recorded 15 digs and two assists. Kackstetter collected eight kills, six blocks and three digs, Tang registered five digs, three kills and three blocks, and Emamaullee was credited with five assists.
The Titans lost to Maranatha High of Pasadena, 25-23, 23-25, 7-15, in the first round of the Silver Bracket playoffs on Sept. 23.
Wang collected 12 assists, 12 digs, four kills and one block, Yu produced 18 digs and four kills, and Wendling contributed 16 digs. Kackstetter finished with eight digs, one ace and one block while Park tallied nine digs and two kills. Hoffman recorded four digs and one kill, while Tang had one kill and one dig.
San Marino was swept by Arcadia, 15-25, 22-25, to finish tournament pool play on Sept. 23.
Wang tallied eight assists, three kills, three digs, two aces and one block, Yu produced six digs, five kills and one block, and Hoffman finished with five kills and five digs. Kackstetter recorded four kills and one ace, while Park contributed nine digs, three aces and two kills. Wendling was credited with eight digs, while Tang had one kill.
The Titans were swept by El Camino Real High of Woodland Hills, 5-25, 19-25, to open the second day of tournament action on Sept. 23.
Yu registered 10 digs and four kills, while Wang tallied 10 assists, four digs and three kills. Park finished with five kills, four digs and one block, Hoffman recorded four kills, four blocks and three digs, and Wendling produced six digs, two assists and one ace. Tang contributed four blocks, two digs and one kill, while De Los Santos collected two digs and one assist. Sophomore Daniela Levy had one dig, while sophomore Jenna Estandarte notched one block.
SMHS lost to tournament host Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta, 18-25, 23-25, on Sept. 22.
Park registered 12 digs, three aces and two kills, while Kackstetter tallied five blocks, four kills, three digs and one ace. Yu recorded seven digs and three kills, Wendling finished with seven digs and one ace, and Emamaullee produced seven assists and one dig. Wang collected five assists, four kills and three digs, Hoffman contributed two blocks, one kill and one dig, and Tang had one block.
The Titans posted a narrow, 26-24, 26-24, sweep over Cleveland High on Sept. 22 as Wang racked up 13 assists, 13 digs, four kills and three blocks.
Park tallied 16 digs and eight kills, while Yu recorded 11 digs, three kills and one ace. Kackstetter produced five kills, three digs, two aces and one block, while Wendling contributed seven digs, two assists and one ace. Hoffman finished with three digs and one kill, Emamaullee had two assists and two digs, and Tang registered one block, one kill and one dig.
San Marino swept Castaic, 25-21, 25-12, in its tournament opener on Sept. 22 as Wang was credited with 10 assists, two kills, two digs and one ace.
Kackstetter tallied eight digs, five kills, four aces and one block, while Yu recorded eight digs, three kills, two aces and one block. Park contributed six kills and six digs, Hoffman produced five digs, two blocks, one kill and one ace, and Emamaullee finished with six assists and one dig. Wendling had three digs and one assist, while Tang registered one kill and one dig.
The Titans will host South Pasadena in a league match on Oct. 3 at 5:30 p.m. before visiting Monrovia on Oct. 5.
First published in the Sept. 28 issue of the San Marino Tribune
