Bonita Makes the Grade, Advances to Play Maranatha Saturday

From right, Allie LaPierre, Katie Kirby and Melissa Katherman prepare to go on defense.

Although Bonita swept Silverado, 25-13, 25-20, 25-20 in a CIF-SS Division 3AA second round game at Bonita High School Thursday night, Bearcats coach Adriana Contreras, who is also a math teacher on campus, gave the girls an 8.5 for their overall performance. Translation: there’s slight room for improvement.

“We could have been a little better with our serves, a little more effective with coverage,” she said, “but overall I think the girls did a really good job on defense, picking up balls and attacking. I think Danielle Lines did a great job blocking some balls and then there was Lauren Mierke getting that solo block against their 6-5 middle. That was amazing.”

In Game 1, Bonita started strong, collecting the first four points before closing out the contest, 25-13. Time after time, outside hitter Allie LaPierre, benefitting from some great sets from her teammates Kassandra Mejia, Ashley Maxfeldt, Melissa Katherman, Jackie Campa, Lines and Mierke, rose above the net to deliver punishing kills.

On the night, the UCLA-bound LaPierre led Bonita with 21 kills and 17 digs. Other standout performances came from Maxfeldt, with 37 assists, nine digs and three aces, and Katie Kirby, with eight kills, 18 digs and eight aces.

Kassandra Mejia prepares to serve.

Game 2 seemed as if it would be a repeat of the first, but Silverado edged within two points, 19-17, of the Bearcats, before a block by Maxfeldt and three kills and an ace by LaPierre ended Silverado’s surge.

In Game 3, Silverado clung to an early lead, but the Bearcats finally broke on top 11-10 and cruised home with a 25-20 win that ended with a Kirby ace.

Going into the match, Bonita was concerned that Silverado’s imposing 6-foot-5 middle blocker Candice Agee could disrupt the Bearcats’ offense. To counter, Bonita ran several “slides,” where LaPierre was constantly in motion on the court.

“That was pretty effective,” Contreras said. “That slowed them down.”

Whether anyone can slow down the Bearcats remains to be seen. Second-seeded Bonita plays Sierra Madre Maranatha in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The time is yet to be determined.

Contreras, always the teacher and evaluator, had one more grade to hand out after the victory.

“The girls got a ‘10’ for enthusiasm.”