Benicia High’s varsity volleyball team continued its impressive start to the season by winning every match last Saturday on its way to capturing the prestigious Concord Tournament.
It was Benicia’s first tournament victory since winning the Carmichael Tournament back in 2008 and upped the Lady Panthers to 12-0 on the season.
“This definitely gives us some confidence,” said Benicia head coach Jamie Hadendelft. “It was a good test for us managing pressure situations and having to fight. Coming through in clutch moments and staying focused really helps build our character.”
The Lady Panthers dropped the first set of the day in a match against Analy that started at 8:30 a.m., but Benicia went on to beat Analy, 15-25, 25-16, 25-13, then swept Alhambra (25-21, 25-20) and Liberty (25-20, 25-16) to finish pool play unbeaten. The Lady Panthers then swept Tokay in the quarterfinals, 25-14, 25-13, and Petaluma in the semifinals (25-15, 25-22) to reach the championship match.
Benicia’s opponent for the title was San Ramon Valley – a team that won the Concord Tournament a year ago, went unbeaten in the East Bay Athletic League and captured the North Coast Section Division I championship. The Lady Panthers drew first blood with a 36-34 victory in the opening set.
“It was a really exciting game,” Hadenfeldt said. “We were trading points back and forth and it was really intense.”
San Ramon Valley evened the match with a 25-15 victory in Set 2. Benicia went up 5-1 early in the deciding set, only to see San Ramon Valley close to within 8-7. But Benicia rolled off seven unanswered points to win secrure championship.
Megan Osterholt led Benicia with 45 kills and 53 digs for the tournament. Cassidy Jannson had 43 kills, Eden Eden Fukushima had 149 assists, Ramona Glatzel added 62 digs, and Charlotte Cannizzaro had 12 blocks.
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