Palo Alto High School’s girls volleyball team beat their home rival Gunn High School 3-2 on Thursday, October 8. The rivalry brought a large crowd, with lots of energy and support for their respective teams.

Coach Jekara Wilson was proud of her team’s performance, as well their ability to deal with the cheering of the rival crowds.

“I think our team did a really good job of managing the crowd, they did intimidate us a little bit, but overall at the end of the day we really rose to the occasion,” Wilson said.

The Vikings started the game off very strong. They dominated the first set, winning 25-16.

The second set did not go the same as the first for the Vikings. They trailed Gunn for the majority of the set, losing 25-20.

The third set went back and forth in the beginning, but halfway through, Gunn took the lead, winning the set 25-22.

The Vikings fought back in the fourth set, working together as a team. Trying to come back from the previous two sets, the Vikings won the set 25-20, tying up the game 2-2.

“I think we really worked well as a team, and bonded, and really cheered for each other,” Bryce Rockwell (‘16) said.

In the final set, the Vikings came out hungry, ready to win. They dominated the set 15-4, winning the game 3-2.

“We’ve been working on gelling as a team so that we connect better on the court, and it really payed off tonight,” Gabrielle Bains (‘16) said.

The Vikings next game is at Los Gatos on October 13, at 6:45.