In its first match of the season, the Paly volleyball team (1-0-0) prevailed over non-league opponent Castilleja High School (0-1-0) in straight sets (25-21, 26-24, 24-14) at home Thursday night.

Though the first two sets remained neck-and-neck, the Vikings were able to pull away from Castilleja in the third set and take the victory. Team captain and outside hitter Becca Raffel (‘14) was pleased with the way Paly set the tone for the coming season.

“For the first game of the season I think everyone did a good job getting comfortable with their spots on the court and I think after a shaky start we got a lot more comfortable and we were able to perform,” Raffel said. “It was a good start.”

Casti jumped out to an early lead in the first set, dominating Paly 6-1 before the tables turned with a spike from Raffel and an ace two points later. The lead see-sawed until Paly, with the game tied 17-17, pulled away for a 25-21 win.

The score remained close throughout the entire second set, with four being the largest lead of the game. Castilleja was poised for victory, leading the Vikings 24-22 going into the gamepoint, but a Paly rally capped by a rousing spike by Raffel and an ace from labero Keri Gee (‘14) tipped the set in the Vikings’ favor by a final score of 26-24.

The Vikings handled Castilleja with ease in the third and final set, never relinquishing the lead and winning 25-14.

Paly next takes the court at the Deer Valley Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7.