A few days after their first league loss of the season, the Palo Alto High School volleyball team (15-7, 8-1) defeated the Gunn High School Titans (14-12, 8-1) in three nail-biting sets Friday night in the Gunn gym.

The team narrowly took each set by only two points. The Vikings won the first set (26-24), the second set (28-26) and the third set (26-24).

Viking head coach Jekara Wilson said she is proud of the group’s performance against a team as strong as Gunn.

“I think they performed well,” Wilson said. “I think that [a close game] is going to happen any time we [Paly and Gunn] play each other,” Wilson said.

According to Wilson, the Vikings excelled offensively by finding a rhythm and sticking with it.

“Offensively, we just got in a really good groove and kept with it,” Wilson said.

Junior outside hitter Avery Wooten said that strong individual performances allowed the Vikings to overcome struggles with communication.

“Individually, we played really well, but as a team we started out slow and we weren’t communicating in the beginning,” Wooten said.

According to Wooten, improving the team’s communication is crucial in enhancing its performance.

“We definitely need to work on communication and keeping our energy levels up,” Wooten said.

Senior outside hitter Fiona Green said that the Vikings stayed consistent in the face of pressure and overall played a solid game.

“I think we played pretty consistently throughout the night,” Green said. “There were some ups and downs, but ultimately we played well.”

According to Green, the energetic Viking crowd helped pump the team up.

“We haven’t really played any games with such a large crowd or had that much support,” Green said. “It was really exciting to have those people here.”

The Vikings aim to continue their success in a match against the Homestead High School Mustangs (8-15, 3-5) at 6:45 pm on Oct. 18 at the Homestead gym.