The Palo Alto High School volleyball team beat Homestead High School in a very close game in which the Vikings pulled out a three set victory.
The Vikes started off the game with a 3-0 lead but Homestead’s strong outside hitters quickly countered. This set the tone for the rest of the set as the Vikes continued to trade points with the Mustangs.
The Lady Vikes’ defense proved key and allowed them to take a three point streak midway through the first set, bringing the score to 14-12. Homestead answered with an equally tough defense. The combination of good defense and devastating strikes by the Mustang’s outside hitters lead them to game point, 24-21. The Lady Vikes showed their determination and battled back from a three point deficit to tie the game at 24 all. An ace by Jade Schoenberger (‘15), followed by a huge kill by Shelby Knowles (‘13) gave the Vikes the two points they needed to win the set 27-25.
“I think that we did a really good job coming off of our tough loss on Tuesday,” Becca Raffel (’14) said. “I think that we struggled with passing, but overall I think that we did a good job.”
The Lady Vikes started the second set strong, quickly racking up two points from kills by Knowles and Raffel. Sophia Bono (‘13) continued the Vikes strong serving, acing two serves to further the Viking lead, 8-2. Following the aces by Bono, the Lady Vikes dominated the rest of the set. Two kills by Knowles and Raffel gave the Vikes a ten point lead at 19-9. The Vikes went on to win the set 25-12 after a kill by Anna Dukovic (‘15).
“I thought that we played really well.” Keri Gee (’14) said. “We came together after each point and I think that this really pumped all of us up and it united us as a team.”
The third set proved to be the toughest fought and the closest of the game. The Vikes started off slow falling behind 5-0 early in the set. But Paly kept fighting and brought the score to 8-8.
The Vikes battled back from point deficiencies four times over the course of the set. However, the Vikes gained an important lead at 24-22. It would be Knowles who would end the game for the Vikes with a huge kill securing the win, 25-22.
Coach David Winn believes that the Lady Vikes need to improve on consistency throughout the game.
“We made a lot of errors and then needed to fight back and we are eventually going to play a high caliber team that won’t let us fight back,” Winn said.
The Vikings will play away against Monta Vista on Tuesday at 6:45.
