The Palo Alto High School volleyball team has proved itself capable of doing it all. As if winning league, the Central Coast Section (CCS) and Northern California championships weren’t enough, the Lady Vikes concluded their season on the highest of notes by claiming the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I State Championship over Southern California champion Long Beach Poly.

The Lady Vikes (41-1) defeated Long Beach Poly (39-3) at the San Jose State University Event Center on Saturday night in the nail-biting fifth game, which ended 17-15, after being down 14-12. Outside hitter Maddie Kuppe (’12) served up the last two points for the championship victory, along with 10 kills and nine digs.

The Lady Vikes made Paly fans proud by concluding a spectacular sports weekend for the school. On Friday, Paly fans excitedly celebrated the football team’s Open Division Central Coast Section (CCS) championship victory, and there is more celebration to come.

Paly had high expectations going into the season, and exceeded such by winning league, and the CCS, NorCal and state championships.

The first four games went back and forth between the Lady Vikes and the Jackrabbits; Paly won games one and three with scores 25-17 and 25-21, while Long Beach Poly won games two and four with scores 25-20 and 25-11. After a rigorous tug-of-war battle of game wins, Paly went on to win the fifth game 17-15, giving the Lady Vikes their first-ever volleyball state championship.

“Oh my goodness, it feels so good,” setter Kimmy Whitson (‘12), who had 34 assists and 15 digs, said. “I can’t believe it. I’ll believe it in a few hours, but right now it’s just so great.”

In the packed gymnasium, both teams’ fans cheered enthusiastically during each point. At one point, Long Beach Poly fans distracted Paly by chanting just as the players were about to serve, contributing to four Paly service errors in the first game. However, Paly fans soon responded with their own spirit and allowed Paly to regain confidence and focus. By the fifth game, the Lady Vikes were virtually unaffected.

“Whenever they started chanting ‘Poly,’ we kind of heard they were yelling ‘Paly,'” Kuppe said. “It kind of worked out.

Paly, which took control in the first game, began with a solid kill from middle blocker Melanie Wade (’12) to win the first point. The Lady Vikes maintained the lead throughout the game. Outside hitter Trina Ohms (’11) had back-to-back kills, bringing the score from 17-10 to 19-10, and giving Paly the momentum needed for the win, making the match score 1-0 with Paly on top.

However, Paly’s game one win did not provide enough momentum for the second game. From the start, the Jackrabbits held a stable 5-0 lead over the Lady Vikes. Later in the game, with a kill from Wade to make the score 18-22, it seemed as though Paly might regain enough strength to come back. But Poly stayed consistent, winning the game, 25-20, and tying the match score at 1 game apiece.

By the third game, both teams struggled offensively, continuously tying the match on a point-by-point basis and making too many errors to take a significant lead in the game. However, Paly finally broke through the rut when, after a tie score at 21-21, Whitson got a strong kill, followed by back-to-back aces by defensive specialist Shelby Knowles (’13). The Lady Vikes won the game 25-21, taking the match score lead of 2-1.

The fourth game was a potential championship win for the Lady Vikes, but they did not follow through with the final victory just yet, as the Jackrabbits easily won the game, 25-11. Paly, which found it difficult to return Long Beach Poly’s forceful hits, suffered its worst lost of the match after only scoring 11 points. The loss for the Lady Vikes tied the match score 2-2 and set up the deciding fifth game.

The two teams once again battled out back-and-forth rallies in the fifth game, until Long Beach Poly broke through the ties and led 14-12. Paly, knowing that its season could end in just one more point, called a timeout, changed the game plan, and came back fighting. One sideout and two aces later, the Lady Vikes won the game 17-15, along with the state championship crown.

Although the Jackrabbits lost the overall match, they put up a rigorous fight in all five games against Paly, knocking off two games and losing the fifth by only two points. Poly outside hitter Bria Russ (’11), who is committed to playing volleyball at University of Southern California (USC) next year, had an impressive 16 kills and 20 digs; the highest number of kills of any Paly or Long Beach player during the game.

But despite their competativeness, the Jackrabbits did not feel that they performed at their highest level.

“It was the most out of sync we’ve been this whole year, and Palo Alto just played steady,” Long Beach Poly head coach Leland McGrath said. “We were a little flat tonight. We weren’t playing well, and they just kept competing.”

The last game proved Paly’s stronger mental toughness, when the team was down 14-12, giving Long Beach the upper hand with two championship point opportunities.

Paly head coach Dave Winn then took a timeout to provide his players with the extra confidence they needed.

“When I knew that my girls could get distracted by [Long Beach Poly’s lead], I looked at them and they didn’t care,” Dave Winn said. “I thought, if [they’re] not getting rattled by this point, [they are] going to win.”

On the next point, Paly gained the sideout, and came back to tie it at 15-15. Finally, two aces by Kuppe won the last necessary points for the game and the title.

“There was so much pressure going into that fifth game,” Kuppe said. “We were really confident going into it, but it’s always the same thing going through your mind. You just have to stay focused on every point.”

While Kuppe provided the game-winning ace to win the championship title, her teammates were also recognized for their level of play. After the game, Wade, who had a game-high 15 kills for the Lady Vikes, was named MVP of the CIF tournament. In addition, opposite Caroline Martin (’12) who had 7 kills, and libero Megan Coleman (’11) who provided 32 digs, both received the All-Tournament Award. Whitson was granted the Pursuing Victory with Honor award in recognition of her sportsmanship.

The Lady Vikes began their season only three months ago, but have shown exactly what the Paly volleyball program is capable of. When Dave Winn looks back on his team’s season, he comments on the team’s closeness rather than the numbers.

“The best memories are always about road trips, the team dinners and the silly little jokes that they have,” Winn said. “That’s what’s going to make them be life long friends. Having the group of girls, and seeing them gel even more, [working] through the hard times and [working] through the drama, and [coming] together on the very last day of the season: That’s what they’re going to remember.”

Links:

• “Volleyball’s Road to State” article published in Issue One by Sam Borsos
• Season Timeline
• Last year, Paly had a 33-game winning streak, but lost in the Div. II CCS Championship

Editor’s Note: After the publication of this story, Paly rose to No. 2 in the national MaxPreps volleyball rankings. CIF Div. II State Champion St. Francis High School (Mountain View, Calif.) is ranked No. 1.