Trailing 18-16 in game one, Menlo caught fire. Seniors Sarah Poole and Kelsey Bailey had back-to-back kills before setter Stephanie Williamson clocked a Holy names kill attempt for the lead. A Poole block and a hitting error gave the Oaks a 21-18 advantage. The teams traded points until kills from Poole and Deborah Bekowies ended the game.

The second game of the night followed a similar pattern with Menlo and Holy Names trading the lead most of the way. The Oaks trailed by a point when evened the score with a kill. A Hawks hitting error was followed by kills from Brittany Sudduth and Bekowies for a 17-14 Oaks lead. It was 19-16 Menlo when a Poole kill and a Bailey service ace all but closed the door on Holy Names. Williamson came through with a kill and Bekowies with an emphatic block to put the finishing touches on the game.

For all the drama in the opening two games of the night, the final game was sorely lacking until the very end. Menlo led throughout and was ahead 23-17 when the Hawks scored five straight. Serving with the chance to tie the score, Holy Names was put on notice by a Bailey kill and Williamson snuck a kill into the middle of the Hawks court to end the match.

Williamson did a little bit of everything for Menlo in the pivotal match, finishing with 28 assists, 14 digs, six kills in 11 attempts, and two blocks. Bekowies killed 14 chances for a .400 hitting percentage while Poole had eight blocks and five kills. Bailey totaled eight kills and 15 digs while Pendley tallied seven kills.

Rebecca Chase led Holy Names with nine kills and 11 assists while Ashley Nickell finished with 10 kills. Natalie Kasbarian tallied 13 assists.

Next for the Hawks is the Bruins of Bethany University.  Game will be played in Scotts Valley, Ca on Friday, October 23, 2009 at 7PM.  Come out and support your Hawks!