Tonight, the Palo Alto High School varsity volleyball team (18-3, 5-0) conquered Monta Vista High School (13-10, 0-4) in a quick three-game set. The Lady Vikes concluded the week with two back-to-back wins after coming off of a win against Los Altos on Tuesday.
“We played with confidence tonight,” middle blocker Jackie Koenig (’12) said.
In the first game, the Lady Vikes played hesitantly, losing the first two points of the game to the Matadors on errors.
However, moments later, a hard kill from setter Kimmy Whitson (‘12) on the second touch of the play sent momentum Paly’s favor. Mid-game, it seemed as though Monta Vista would come back, challenging Paly by tying the game at nine points a piece. But the Lady Vikes pulled ahead after a shallow court kill from middle blocker Becca Raffel (‘14), continuing in Paly’s favor at 14-10. Paly finished by winning the first game of the set, 25-18.
Although some Paly communication errors allowed Monta Vista to score the first two points of the second game, the Lady Vikes quickly corrected their errors. A kill from outside hitter Maddie Kuppe (‘12) into the left deep pocket of the court allowed the Lady Vikes to hoist their momentum and carry the lead throughout the rest of the game. An additional kill from Koenig towards the end of the game allowed Paly to stay ahead at 22-13. Paly went on to win the game 25-16.
The Lady Vikes picked apart Monta Vista’s defense in the final game of the match, gaining an early lead. Nonstarters setter Ally Kron (‘12), setter Sophia Bono (‘13), middle blocker Lauren Kerr (‘14), opposite Bella Graves ( ‘14), outside hitter Haley Owens (‘13), and defensive specialist Ashley Shin (‘12) were subbed in periodically. The Lady Vikes continued their success by keeping the lead for the rest of the game. With a backset from Kron, Graves powered the ball to the deep back court, allowing the Lady Vikes to pull ahead, 18-5. Paly finished off the game 25-10.
The Lady Vikes play Homestead High School next Tuesday, October 11 at Homestead at 6:45 p.m.
