Paly’s varsity volleyball team prevailed, 3-2, over the Homestead Mustangs in a difficult five-set battle on Thursday night at home.
The Vikings knew what they were up against, as Homestead is one of the top teams in the league and nearly defeated the Vikings last year for the league title.
The Vikings came out strong winning the first two games, but then let the Mustangs back into the match by dropping the next two. However the girls came back in the fifth set for the win, riding on an inspirational wave of emotion from the stands and sidelines.
The first two games were close, but the Vikings came out on top, winning 25-22 and 25-19, respectively.
Paly looked to close out the match in three games, but Homestead proved to be too tough to be swept in straight games. The Mustangs started the third set determined to win their emphatic spikes.
“They’re [Homestead] a good team,” head coach David Winn said, “and midway through the third game, I knew it was going to five games.
Senior Homestead outside hitter Katherine Fischer led the Mustangs’ charge back into the match. The momentum was clearly in Homestead’s favor as the Vikings looked tired.
“We were pretty evenly matched,” junior outside hitter Cassie Prioleau said.”We outplayed them in the first two games, but they had the energy for the second two games.”
The Vikings played hard, nearly matching Homestead point for point in the third and fourth games, but the Mustangs won, 17-25, 18-25.
“We definitely had our ups and downs in that match,” senior co-captain Allie Coleman said. “We weren’t quite on our game in sets three and four.”
The beginning of the final set had a similar feel to the previous two, with Homestead jumping out to a 6-1 lead before Winn took a timeout to try to stop Homestead’s momentum. The tactic worked, as the Vikings went on a energetic 10-point run led by Coleman and senior co-captain Ally Whitson.
“We really came alive a few points into the last set,” Coleman said. “As we started to make a few good plays, we started to have a ton of energy, and we really began to feel the momentum shift in our favor.”
With each point, the noise from the Paly stands grew louder and louder with excitement as the Vikings continued to roll. Homestead tried to stem Paly’s tide of energy with a timeout, but to no avail, fell in the last set to the Vikings 15-11.
“I just told them what a great story this would make [if we came back],” Winn said. “Winning these kinds of games, it’s the best.”
The team and the coaches were happy with the overall effort, and were glad to win a difficult match against a tough team.
“Winning a close game is a lot more exciting and satisfying than a blowout,” Prioleau said.
The Vikings look to continue their winning ways on Saturday at the Cupertino Tournament in Cupertino. Their next home game is Oct. 9 against Los Altos at 6:45 p.m.