Volleyball Recap: Berkley Bates Leads a Balanced Effort to Beat Veterans Memorial

While Smithson Valley's win against Veterans Memorial wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Rangers skirted past the Patriots 3-2. The Rangers haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.

Smithson Valley had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 27-29, 20-25, 25-14, 25-18, 15-10.

Berkley Bates

Serving Aces (Career)

08/19/25 @ Veterans Memorial	5
08/11/25 @ Johnson	3
08/30/24 vs Memorial	3
08/16/25 vs Brennan	2
09/27/24 @ Veterans Memorial	2

Smithson Valley's win on Tuesday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Berkley Bates, who had 23 digs and five aces. Those five aces gave Bates a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dani Mendez, who had 26 assists and seven digs.

When it comes to explaining why Veterans Memorial lost, don't look at Cameron Danaher. Despite the final result, she had 22 digs and three assists. Danaher is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had 19 or more in each of the last three games she's played.

Smithson Valley's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Veterans Memorial, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season.

Smithson Valley didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 2-0 victory against Ellison on the 21st. As for Veterans Memorial, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 2-0 win against Harper on the 21st.