The Palo Alto High School girls’ varsity volleyball team (20-0, 2-0) breezed through its first week of league play, defeating Monta Vista (10-7, 0-1) at home on Thursday, after a win on Tuesday at Los Altos High School.
Despite struggling against Monta Vista’s defense at the start of the match, the Lady Vikes overall played an easy three game match, winning 25-19, 25-10, 25-12.
“[The Lady Matadors] surprised us with their defense and we definitely did really well adapting to that,” Paly outside hitter Trina Ohms (’11) said.
Paly started the first game off strong, with a kill by Maddie Kuppe (‘12) within the first two points of the game. Kuppe had 6 kills in the match, hitting several smart shots down the line. These kills sparked the Lady Vikes’ energy and paved the way for the rest of the match.
In response to Paly’s tough hits, Monta Vista played scrappy defense, picking up many of the Lady Vikes attempted kills throughout the first game.
“I thought the first game was probably the best volleyball we played all season,” Monta Vista head coach Colin Anderson said. “But in the middle of the second game, Palo Alto made some adjustments and did some different things and we didn’t adjust to it. We couldn’t keep up.”
The Lady Matadors were able to pick up many of the Lady Vikes hits, but had trouble returning an equally polished offense. Monta Vista middle blocker Alice Liu (‘13) was the kill leader for the Matadors, contributing seven kills.
“We started out strong but couldn’t quite finish,” said Anderson.
The Lady Vikes picked up their energy in the second and third games, controlling the rhythm of the match. Paly middle blocker Melanie Wade (‘12) got a kill to score the Lady Vikes’ first point of the second game. Both Wade and Ohms had 16 kills in the match.
“On offense we executed well,” Ohms said. “We got off to a mediocre start, and it wasn’t the best, but [in the] second or third game we really got into our rhythm. It was fun.”
What set this match apart from many of the Lady Vikes’ matches this season was the tough serves executed by Paly. Wade was the team’s ace leader, with four. Paly’s strong serves helped them pick apart Monta Vista’s defense, getting them out of system in the last two games. Paly setter Ally Kron (‘12) earned the Lady Vikes last point with an ace.
After placing first in the Harbor Tournament last weekend, and beginning league play with a record of 2-0, the Lady Vikes are off to a strong start of the regular season. Although Paly is undefeated, the team still strives for improvement.
“Next week I hope to see us improve on our team defense and communication,” Ohms said. “Our offense is awesome, but you can’t have an offense without a defense.”
Paly faces off against Mountain View (6-4) away next Tuesday at 6:45 p.m at Mountain View.