Volleyball Game Preview: Hillsdale Fighting Knights vs. Menlo-Atherton Bears

The Hillsdale Fighting Knights will challenge the Menlo-Atherton Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with four losses in a row, Hillsdale turned things around against Woodside on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 3-0 victory. The Fighting Knights not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since September 18th (when they won 3-0).

One reason for the win was Hillsdale's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-17, 25-15.

Kealani Alvarez

Assists

10/07/25 vs Woodside	24
10/02/25 vs Aragon	14
09/30/25 @ Sequoia	10
09/25/25 vs Burlingame	9
09/23/25 @ Carlmont	19
+ 15 more games

Hillsdale can attribute much of their success to Mia DeMartini, who had 17 digs and three assists, and Kealani Alvarez, who had 24 assists and three aces. That's the most assists Alvarez has posted since back in October of 2024.

Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton beat Half Moon Bay 3-1 on Tuesday.

Menlo-Atherton had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 14-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-17.

Menlo-Atherton's win bumped their record up to 14-7. As for Hillsdale, their victory bumped their record up to 7-12.

Hillsdale suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Menlo-Atherton when the teams last played back in September. Will the Fighting Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other volleyball content.