The Palo Alto boys volleyball team fell to the Wilcox Chargers 3-0 in their fourth conference match this Friday night at the Peery Center.

This is the first season boys volleyball has been offered at Paly and every player was ecstatic at their opportunity to represent Paly in this sport. Boys volleyball has been something the student body at Paly has sought for years. Previously, it was not able to be offered at Paly because Title IX mandates there must be an equal number of boys and girls teams at schools, and no new girls team was set to be introduced at Paly, making it impossible for boys volleyball to become a sport. This year, with the edition of field hockey as a girls sport, a boys volleyball team was finally able to become reality.

“They have been talking about [a boys volleyball team] for twenty plus years and girls field hockey finally opened up a slot for a boys team” said head coach Edward Yeh.

The Vikings and Chargers were neck and neck throughout the beginning of the first set, Paly leading 15-14 halfway through. The Chargers ended up taking the lead, fueled by a streak of four consecutive points. Wilcox went on to take the first set 25-19.

Paly lagged at the beginning of the second set as the Chargers landed some huge spikes. The Vikings began to bounce back as Bryce added two points to Paly with a spike and a tip. Paly kept their momentum as Finn Hadley stepped up to serve, leading to only a three point difference between the teams, Wilcox leading 10-11. Wilcox proceeded to pull ahead winning the second set 25-14.

The Vikings were unable to rebound in the third set, ultimately losing 25-10 and ending the match. The Vikings are ready to bounce back and will play next in a tournament on Saturday March 19 at Wilcox High School.

“[Next game] I want to get some solid blocks and embarrass the other team, that’s my goals” Bryce Doughman (‘18) said.