ATHERTON, Calif. - There was one California Pacific Conference distinction left for Menlo College's senior laden squad to achieve this season, and it did just that on Saturday night. The Oaks took the first ever Cal Pac Tournament championship in an exciting, albeit one-sided, contest, defeating Holy Names 25-22, 25-16, 30-28 in front of a hectic crowd at Haynes-Prim Pavilion to earn an automatic berth in the NAIA National Championship for the second consecutive season.
Menlo cruised to cushy leads in the first two games of the night before doing extra time in the decisive third game against a game Hawks squad playing its third Cal Pac Tournament match of the week. When senior outside hitter Kelsey Bailey closed out the match and the home careers of six Menlo seniors with a kill, the Oaks players and student cheering section stormed the home side of the court in celebration.
Senior Deborah Bekowies, a record-setting middle blocker, played a pivotal role on the night, finishing with 13 kills and a .310 hitting percentage while fellow senior and First Team All-Cal Pac selection Sarah Poole finished with 11 kills and hit .333. Senior setter Stephanie Williamson, another First Team All-Cal Pac honoree, tallied a match-high 31 assists to go with 12 digs and three service aces. Seniors and Second Team All-Cal Pac picks Katie Pendley and Kelsey Bailey added 11 and eight kills, respectively. Mia Ortiz had 20 digs and two service aces while Shelby Goldman chipped in 14 digs.
Though the Oaks won in straight sets, the match was anything but straightforward. After jumping out to what looked like an insurmountable 13-2 advantage that was still a 16-6 cushion later in the set, Holy Names chipped away at Menlo's advantage. An unstoppable Poole kill and a Hawks hitting error gave the Oaks set match at 24-16, but four straight points by the Hawks put pressure on Menlo for the first time all night. It was too little, too late for Holy Names, however, as Pendley killed the next point for the opening set.
In the second game, the Oaks stormed out of the blocks again and took a 10-3 lead on a Shelby Goldman service ace. The Hawks fought to stay in the match, trimming Menlo's lead to 13-10 before the Oaks put the game, and likely the match, away. Pendley, Bekowies and Ortiz had successive kills to stretch Menlo's advantage back to six at 16-10 and it never got closer than a five-point game after that. Poole tallied three of the last five Oaks points with kills to wrap up the set.
With its season on the line, Holy Names fought back in the third set and took its first lead of the evening at 11-10. The set went back and forth from there. The Hawks grabbed a 17-14 lead before a Bekowies kill and a pair of Holy Names errors tied the score. Poole then killed two straight chances and scored with a block for a 20-17 Oaks cushion. The writing was on the wall, but Holy Names ignored it, scoring four straight for a 21-20 lead that changed hands five more times before the set was through.
An Ortiz ace gave Menlo a match point that Holy Names survived with two straight scores. Bekowies kept the set alive with a kill before the Oaks got another match point thanks to a Hawks ball handling error. The Hawks tied the score at 26 only to give match point right back with a service error. Menlo then allowed Holy Names to get to match point at 28-27 before it hit back too hard for the Hawks to handle. A Bekowies kill tied the score, a hitting error gifted the Oaks one last match point, and Bailey struck with the match-ending kill.
After playing their last match inside the friendly confines of Haynes-Prim Pavilion, Bekowies holds school career records for kills (1,410), total blocks (339), and solo blocks (154). Williamson is the Oaks career leader in assists (1,086) while Poole joins them in the career and single-season record books. Defensive specialist Jamie Pauley also played her final home match for Menlo, finishing with three digs on the night.
Ariel Carmichael had 10 kills and a .313 hitting percentage to lead Holy Names while Natalie Kasbarian totaled 19 assists and Kayla Coleman 12 digs.