The Paly boys’ volleyball team defeated the Santa Clara Bruins with a score of 3-0 Wednesday night. 

The first set of the game began with the Vikings and Bruins going back and forth, exchanging points. Neither team had an advantage until the Bruins took a 7-11 lead. This, however, did not stop the Vikings from coming back. Raymon Chen (’19) set up Finn Hadley (’21) with a perfect opportunity for a kill and Hadley followed through. This was the story for much of the first set, Chen setting up the ball for his teammates, which led to a first set win of 25-18. 

The second set of the game was very similar to the first set. Santa Clara took a lead of 11-15, but the Vikings all bounced back. Bryce Doughman (’18) and Miles Schulman (’19) helped tie the game 23-23 and the Vikings came out with a second set win of 25-23. 

“It’s been a ride this season because a lot of people haven’t really played before, but we got people to start hitting and blocking well. We started blocking the ball at the end, which is really good,” Chen said. 

The third set was the most stressful set for the Vikings, as they had to overcome a 10-2 Santa Clara lead. Despite this, the Vikings persevered with two big kills from Sione Latu (’18), and won the set with a score of 25-22.

“I think every week we are getting better. The repetitions are causing everything to become a little sharper, but there are still things to improve upon. Our middle hitting is better, our serving is better, our coverage has gotten better. I think we have to work on our hitting more though,” Coache Ed Yeh said.