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The Menlo College women's volleyball team will be out to keep its perfect season intact when the Oaks compete in the Concordia Asics/Wyndham Hotel Labor Day Tournament this weekend in Irvine.

The Oaks will take on 24th-ranked Westmont on Saturday afternoon before squaring off against San Diego Christian that night.

Menlo began its 2012 season in dominating fashion this past weekend, rolling off wins in all three matches at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational hosted by UC Merced.

Menlo took care of business on Friday with a three-set sweep of West Coast Baptist, before earning two hard-fought, five-set victories over Oregon Tech and Embry Riddle. The 3-0 start marks the best opening in the Menlo career of third-year head coach Daniel Rasay, as well as the best start for the program in at least 10 years.

"The previous two years we went 'o-for' our first couple of tournaments, so now we have something to build on," said Rasay on his team's perfect start to the 2012 season. "We don't have as much doubt looming over our heads because of numerous losses, instead we have some wins to learn from."

Friday's match featured a powerful Oaks' squad that wasted no time in taking out West Coast Baptist. Menlo came through with set wins of 25-15, 25-10, and 25-10. Second-team All-Cal Pac recipient Stephenie Monderine led the charge with a team-high eight kills, one of five Oaks to have as many as four. Newcomers Nicole Yap and Emily Tonascia chipped in with five and four, respectively, with Yap sporting a solid .333 attack percentage and Tonascia at a remarkable .571 clip.

The trend continued for Yap a day later as Menlo squared off with a strong Oregon Tech squad in the afternoon's opening match. Yap delivered a match-high 16 kills as the Oaks staved off elimination after trailing two sets to one. Menlo found a way to rattle off an impressive 25-14 victory in the fourth set, before officially sealing the deal with a 15-10 nod in the deciding fifth set.

Yap excelled, but equally as remarkable was sophomore Courtney Calicdan, who was playing in just her second game since suffering a season-ending injury early last year. The outside hitter from Honolulu notched 15 kills and a match-leading 25 digs.

"Courtney did well in her return," said Rasay. "Just to have her on the court is big. She has a presence both offensively and defensively that helps solidify our team a little bit more. She had her ups and downs, but played really well against Oregon Tech which helped us win that match."

Menlo's tournament finale against Embry-Riddle played out very similar to the previous match, as once again it took five sets to decide a winner. However this time it was the Eagles that fought back from a 2-1 deficit to force the final fifth set.

Ultimately, it was still the Oaks' day as they wrapped up their third straight win with a 15-5 final-set showing. Yap once again paved the way with a team-leading 17 kills. Seniors Mika Mendoza and Angie Larsen compiled stellar performances in their own right, as Mendoza had a game-high 33 digs, and Larsen led all players with 46 assists.

— Palo Alto Online Sports/Menlo College Athletics

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