Page One

After blowing leads in the first two games against Monte Vista at Donahue Gym on Thursday, the Berkeley High boys volleyball team finally settled down, overcoming the Mustangs in the next three consecutive games to escape with a 14-16, 15-17, 15-5, 15-6, 15-5 win. 

The come-from-behind effort was typical of Berkeley’s streaky play this season, and echoed the first meeting of 2000 between the two schools – another five-game ’Jacket victory. The winning performance avenged Tuesday’s home loss to league-leading San Ramon, and according to BHS coach Justin Caraway, the effort might have been good enough to give the Wolves a better run for their money, had it occurred two days earlier. 

“(Five games was) certainly more than we expected to play,” Caraway said after the match. “We weren’t worried. I think we’re playing pretty well right now. (Today’s effort) would have made us a little closer to San Ramon.” 

The Yellowjackets began all five games against Monte Vista with plenty of confidence, staking themselves to comfortable leads before failing to finish. According to Caraway, his squad sometimes takes leads for granted until they have been wiped away. However, the coach was encouraged by the Yellowjackets’ refusal to give up after falling behind by two games. 

“We didn’t execute at the end (of games), and just weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be,” he said. “Monte Vista played probably eight really good points. Other than that, we outplayed them for the entire match.” 

“We knew we could win this game,” added Berkeley outside hitter D.Q. Li, who finished with 14 kills and 15 digs on the evening. “I think once we got down two games, we got more relaxed. I think we played great – we were sick of losing, and we weren’t gonna lose.” 

Mason Chin netted 20 kills to lead a versatile BHS attack, while Lief Bursell anchored the defense with six blocks. The ’Jackets also received a solid all-around effort from Jacob Kardon, who finished with eight kills and an impressive seven service aces. As a team, Berkeley compiled a higher-than-usual 13 blocks for point or sideout. 

“I thought we matched up well,” Caraway said. “I wasn’t as worried when I saw us siding out pretty well. As long as they aren’t scoring points, we aren’t worried.” 

The BHS victory broke an East Bay Athletic League tie with the Mustangs,who dropped to 3-6 on the year with the defeat. At 4-5 in the EBAL with three regular-season games remaining, Berkeley High looks to close out the season above .500. The team gets back to action next Thursday, hosting Granada High in a 5 p.m. showdown at Donahue Gym – the last BHS home game of 2000. 

“We’re feeling pretty confident, we just need to stay on top of our game (against Granada),” Li said after Thursday’s game. “The best team can lose to the worst team, so we have to focus.” 

“(Today’s) effort would have killed Granada,” Caraway added. “It was a good win for us. We still need to win the rest of our matches, but this takes a little pressure off us.”