Lady Vikes’ water polo team falls 11-7 to Mountain View High School on senior night

Quinn Knoblock and Nick Smallwood

The girls’ water polo team suffered a tough loss on their senior night against the nearby Mountain View High School Spartans.

The Vikings started off strong against the Spartans, going up 2-0 with two goals from Sabrina Hall (‘18). Mountain View, however, bounced back with an impressive half court shot that was followed by the end of the first quarter.

Mountain View then started the second quarter with another goal, tying the game at 2-2 with the Vikings. Paly responded quickly with a goal from Hollie Chiao (‘18), but the Spartans quickly responded with two goals and ended up leading 5-4 at the half.

The Spartans started the half by scoring another four goals, putting them up 9-4, before the Lady Vikes responded with their own goal. Unfortunately, the Vikings never seemed to be able to get into a good rhythm and could never fight their way back into the game. When the whistle blew, the ladies lost by four.

“We’re still working towards our goal of qualifying for CCS and that’s still in reach,” water polo coach Aileen Delaney said about the team’s future this season. “I think this game was one of our stronger performances of the season against one of the best teams in our league.”

The team hopes to improve on their consistency throughout their games, rather than drop off for portions at a time. Had the team performed at a higher level right out of halftime, they could have possibly pulled off a victory.

The next time the ladies will take on a team will be on October 20 against Los Gatos High School. They hope to improve to their season in a tough game where they will be visiting the Wildcats for their final league game of the season.