After a difficult start to their season, in which they went on winless in the first nine matches, Menlo’s varsity girls volleyball team bounced back to finish 13-18 overall, securing third place in the competitive West-Bay Foothill volleyball league before a loss in the CCS against Harbor in the semifinals.

“It was definitely a bit demotivating at first as we couldn’t seem to pull out a win for a little while,” senior captain Ava Wang said. However, the Knights purposefully scheduled a difficult preseason against lots of talented non-league teams to set them up for a successful rest of the season.

About halfway into their season, the team started racking wins. Head coach Tony Holland focused on maintaining energy and not getting caught up in their streak. “Once we started gaining some momentum, we were playing with a lot of confidence but we focused on not being complacent,” Holland said.

Ultimately, the Knights went 8-4 in league play, which put them behind Sacred Heart Prep (12-0) and Notre-Dame Belmont (9-3). Menlo was named the No. 6 seed in the Division IV CCS playoffs, where they beat Pacific Grove 3-1 in quarterfinals, before falling to Harbor High School in the CCS semifinals. 

Wang has lots of confidence in next year’s team. “I see a tremendous amount of potential in every single individual on this team and I just know there are good things coming for them soon,” Wang said.