Andrew Zhao
Viking defender blocks a strike from Titan sophomore outside hitter Jessica Jacobson in the final set of the game between the Vikings and the Gunn High School Titans Tuesday night at home. According to Viking head coach Chris Crader, this game was a good opportunity for the newer players to build confidence. "We had a few kids that have come up from JV, so this is their debut," Crader said. "If they can come out and can play Paly versus Gunn, then hopefully that gives them some confidence going forward."
In a display of offensive prowess, the Palo Alto High School Vikings (1-1) defeated the Gunn High School Titans (0-2) in straight sets, 3-0, Tuesday night at home.
According to Viking head coach Chris Crader, the Vikings have made strategic changes to better fit the new team.
“We lost four senior starters, so that’s going to be a big adjustment for us,” Crader said. “One of them was a setter, so we played a one setter offense for the last three years. A big thing for us [this year] is we’re running a two setter offense, so we’re trying to get them to be similar to each other.”
Crader said the Vikings have a lot of rising talent.
“We have 16 girls on the team, and they’re all really talented,” Crader said. “I would have rather had fewer girls, but just everybody was too good and belonged on the team.”
The Vikings had a strong start with Viking senior outside hitter Maura Hambly setting the tone with powerful cross court spikes that the Titans rarely blocked and struggled to defend. Viking senior opposite hitter Reese Japic and junior middle blocker Anja Covert played like a brick wall at the net, restricting the offensive opportunities from Titan sophomore outside hitter Jessica Jacobson. The first set was a blowout 25-13 victory for the Vikings.
According to Japic, the Vikings’ loss against Menlo Atherton High School motivated them to strategize together.
“After our loss last Friday against MA [Menlo Atherton], we had a players meeting and we talked about limiting the little mistakes and executing better,” Japic said.
In the second set, Japic and Covert continued to dominate at the net. However, saves from Titan junior setter Audra Yuan and blocks from sophomore middle blocker Tai Ford made it difficult for the Vikings to score. The Vikings managed to close out the set, 25-21, by keeping up the pressure with strikes from Hambly and Covert.
Crader said the Vikings need to work on closing out points more effectively.
“We got a lot of digs, but we weren’t great at digging a ball and then finding a way to put it away,” Crader said. “Part of that was that Gunn played good defense, but part of that is also that we need to get better at trying to end that rally a little bit faster.”
In the final set the Titans mustered what offensive they could and kept it close, never dropping more than 5 points behind. However, the Vikings’ offense prevailed through powerful strikes and pinpoint accuracy on returns from Viking sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Roper and Japic, stifling the Titans’ defense. The Vikings won the third and final set, 25-20, completing the 3-0 sweep over the Titans.
According to Titan junior Libero Grace Wong, the Vikings played well on offense.
“Paly played smart and moved our defense around,” Wong said. “They knew where to put the ball and put as much pressure on us with serving and blocking.”
Crader said the Vikings hope to continue their winning streak as league champions.
“We’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve won league two years in a row, so we’re gonna try like heck to win it one more time, but it’s gonna be hard,” Crader said.
The Vikings will play at the Milpitas Spikefest at 8 a.m. Saturday.