Hawks News
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 - [Men's Volleyball]
Senior outside Joey Ballestsos with the kill
Senior outside Joey Ballestsos with the kill
Oakland, CA - The Hawks opened up against Simpson University Friday night and from the start the Hawks set the tempo pretty fast. The Red Hawks of Simpson University were not ready for the explosiveness of the Hawks' outsides and quick sets. Holy Names University defeated Simpson in 3 sets (25-19, 25-6, 25-13). 
The Red Hawks of Simpson University, in their first match ever as a newly formed club team, were outplayed from the start. The first serve of the night was received by the Hawks, and senior outside hitter Joey Ballesteros put away one of his match-high ten kills. From there, the Hawks never looked back.
 
The first game was over almost as quickly as it had started. The less-than-impressive offense of Simpson was rendered silent, as HNU covered seemingly every inch of the court to dig and block almost every ball. The Hawks' defense was marshaled by sophomore libero Jayme Hanan's leading twelve digs and assisted by freshman middle blocker Mott Schweitzer and sophomore setter Colin Harper, who had four block assists apiece.
 
The second game found the Red Hawks too close for the Hawks' comfort. At one point late in the game Simpson trailed by only one, until a series of thunderous kills by Ballesteros, Harper, and sophomore outside hitter James Holoway widened the berth between the two teams. Also assisting was Hanan, who finished the second game with a series of pinpoint serves, including two of his five aces.
 
In the third game the Hawks corrected some errors seen in the previous game, finalizing the match with a Schweitzer kill, one of his eight on the evening. Other standouts for Holy Names include sophomore setter Nick Kalustian with fifteen assists and sophomore outside hitter Jeff Wolf with six kills. Rick White led Simpson University with a team-high two kills.
 
The Hawks take the victory with a grain of salt, however, as many unforced errors were committed in games two three, something the team says they will strive to improve upon tomorrow as they battle Simpson University again at 1 pm.
 
Despite those issues, the relief for Holy Names was evident after the game. This the first win in over a year for the men's volleyball program, as the Hawks, who are without a conference and often battle the top teams in the country, went 0-11 in last year's campaign.
 
With the win the Hawks move to 1-0 on the year.