Paly girls volleyball matched up against their rival, Los Gatos, on 9/29.

“This year, Los Gatos has definitely become our biggest rival, so we went into the game with strong motivation and a real sense of urgency,” sophomore Olivia Roper said. “We gave our full effort on the court to beat this team, and we were definitely successful.”

The team has been working towards stronger cohesion and teamwork. Their unity was evident in this game, and it helped them achieve the win.

“Something we’ve been working on a lot is learning to trust each other and work together as a team, and this game, I think we finally did that,” Roper said. “We played a lot better together as a team instead of six individual players on the court.”

The Vikings’ strong offense helped them get ahead and remain in control.

“Our team plays best when we serve really well,” junior Maura Hambly said. “Since the quality of our serves was very high, we were able to keep Los Gatos, a really good offensive team, out of system.”

However, it took more than just a strong offense to contain Los Gatos. The girls’ defense was notable and strategic.

“One thing besides serving that contributed to our win was our blocking because we were able to limit the hitter’s options, making it easier for us to convert digs to points,” junior Maura Hambly said.

Moving forward, the Vikings look to continue playing strongly.