The Palo Alto High School volleyball team (9-0), went undefeated on its way to winning the High Sierra Tournament title in Reno over the Labor Day weekend.
According to PrepVolleyball.com, a nationally-recognized site for tracking, the Paly volleyball team is currently ranked 55th in the nation, jumping up more than 50 spaces from last year. The Vikings finished first in their league last year and second in the Central Coast Section, advancing as far as the fifth in the state. This year, the team will be competing in Division One, which is based upon school enrollment. Paly now will not have to face smaller powerhouse schools from Division Two such as Archbishop Mitty High School and St. Francis High School.
“Being pre-season ranked in the top 100 is certainly an honor,” head coach Dave Winn said. “We had a great year last year, and we have a returning varsity [squad] that is even stronger this year and determined to do well.”
Team captains and seniors, libero Megan Coleman and outside Trina Ohms, lead the team this season. The girls hope that their long practices will pay of in a trip to the state finals, according to junior outsider Maddie Kuppe.
“We dedicate three hours every week day to our practices, and on Mondays we come in 30 minutes early to do weight training,” Kuppe said. “We give everything we do 110 percent effort. It’s the combination of our drive to improve, the raw talent on our roster and our passion for the game that sets us apart from most other high school teams in the U.S.”
According to Ohms, the team has a wealth of veteran experience, with only three new additions to the squad. The Vikings return all-league junior setter Kimmy Whitson, junior middle blocker Melanie Wade, libero Coleman and outsides Ohms and Kuppe. Paly lost star all-league performers outsider Cassie Prioleau and outsider Marissa Florant to graduation.
The girls plan on improving team communication throughout their games.
“Since it [is] early in the season, I think our team is just a little hesitant at times and when that happens we do not communicate well,” Ohms said. “We are still getting back into the swing of things, so there are bound to be communication errors. That just takes time and experience to work out.”
During their practices, the girls are dedicated and disciplined, according to Wade, who puts a great emphasis on teamwork and is foreseeing a bright future for the team.
“Our biggest goal this year is to win [the] State [finals],” Wade said. “But we want to take it slow. Win one game at a time, and try not to think to far ahead. We also want to be the most improved team. If we are able to come into practice every day and focus on getting better I think [our] team can go really far.”
The team’s next game is an away game against Westmont High School at 6:45 pm on Thursday, Sept. 9. The team’s first home game will be against Gunn High School at 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 14 in the Main Gym.