Team learns lessons against Granada
Piedmont High School’s beach volleyball team saw its undefeated record go by the wayside on March 24 at Granada, dropping a 5-0 match to the Matadors.
At No. 1, Izabella De Ocampo and Anabel Van Niekerk beat the Highlanders Mia Bechtel and Olivia Stevens 21-19, 21-12. That set the tone as the Matadors swept all five matches.
“Oh my goodness,” Piedmont coach Jason Mongue said. “They’re really, really good. They have a huge team! It was clear that their players got a lot more practice at the game of beach. It’s a different type of offense.”
Mongue said it was a great learning experience for his squad.
“Our coaches are talking about avoiding the middle third of the court and then the team that they played that does that consistently — they really have to do that,” he said.
Mongue cited Bechtel and Stevens as well as the No. 5 team of Carly Kemp-Malone and Lucia Dorsey as having played very well against the Matadors. Carina Vora, Sophia Meyer, and Asha Dev have been showing improvement over the course of the season, according to the coach.
On April 1, Piedmont tied Livermore at Livermore, 2-2. Earlier this season, the Highlanders had beaten the Cowboys, 4-1.
Bechtel and Vora won the No. 1 match while Meyer and Fiona Olsen won the No. 2 match.
“When we played Livermore a week-and-change later, we saw how much we improved,” Mongue said. “It takes more than three practices but you could see the wheels turning.”
Piedmont hosts Northgate at Alameda beach on April 21.