The second seeded Lady Vikes quickly dispatched the San Francisco Section champion Mustangs in three games by scores of 25-14, 25-13 and 25-13.

Coming off their historic win in the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals last Saturday over Menlo-Atherton High School, the Lady Vikes were anxious to get back out on the court and make progress toward accomplishing their ultimate goal of a state championship.

“I felt fired up to play today,” outside hitter Shelby Knowles (’13) said. “The fans were also a big help we were pumped to play at home in front of them.”

Knowles finished the day with five kills, three of which came in a stand out performance during the 25-13 victory in the second game. Knowles also provided the Vikings with depth, which was crucial as outside hitters Trina Ohms (’11) and Maddie Kuppe (’12) are both nursing leg injuries.

While Knowles helped get the Lady Vikes over the hump in the second game, the team was led by its usual cast of stars including middle blocker Melanie Wade (’12). Wade finished the night with a game high 17 kills, along with two blocks. Ohms also contributed six kills while Kuppe and setter Kimmie Whitson (’12) added three each. Whitson finished the game with four aces and 13 assists as well.

“We were passing and moving well which helped a lot,” Wade said. “I played a pretty average game tonight, but we knew going in if we played our game we could beat them.”

Although no team can be taken lightly this late in the season, the Lady Vikes knew that the Mustangs played in a much weaker section and that they would have trouble keeping up with the athleticism of Paly. However, coach Winn and the Lady Vikes were pleased by their efforts despite playing against a less competitive team.

“CCS and league were a lot more difficult,” Knowles said. “But we were pretty consistent and didn’t make errors.”

“We played our game and did the little things right,” Winn said. “That is going to help us going forward.”

Yet the highlight of the night was coach Winn’s decision to bring in all six of his junior varsity players, who were brought up to varsity for the playoffs.

“Getting the JV players in was special for us, it’s nice to get them experience,” Wade said.

With Paly leading 23-11 in the third game and the victory all but sealed, Charlotte Alipate (’14) provided the fireworks of the night with a thunderous kill on a miss-hit ball from the Mustangs. Alipate followed it up with another kill to bring the Lady Vikes within one point of taking the match, which brought the fans on their feet.

“When I went in, my heart was beating so fast and I was shaking,” Alipate said. “I got in, I played the game, and that was the outcome. Knowing how it’s going to be next year was awesome.”

The Lady Vikes will need to refocus after their easy three game romp and look forward to their next match, the NorCal semifinals against St. Francis (Sacramento) High School (31-7). The Troubadours of Sacramento come into the match seeded third and will be looking to ruin another historic Paly season, just like they did last year by snapping the Lady Vikes’ 34 game win streak in the NorCal semifinals. However, this year the Troubadours will travel to the Lady Vikes’ turf, and the players hope that, as well as better execution, will lead to a berth in the NorCal finals.

“The match against St. Francis will be kind of a grudge match,” Winn said. “We flipped the table and beat them in three at the first tournament of the year in Reno, but they were a little banged up and missing some players and are a different team now.”

The Lady Vikes have only lost one game all season and remain confident heading into their showdown with their nemesis from last season. Paly will host St. Francis on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Paly.

“If we just do our job and play our game,” Wade said, “we can beat them.”

Click here for the NorCal and state bracket.