The volleyball team celebrates its win at the State Tournament. 

– Courtesy of Debbie Whitson

After its rise to win the California Division I Volleyball State Championship, the Palo Alto High School Volleyball team celebrates another victory: receiving the title of MaxPreps 2010-2011 National Female Team of the Year on May 19.

According to coach Dave Winn, the main reason the volleyball team was given this title was because it started out like an ordinary team but was able to gain national recognition after winning the state finals.

“A lot of it was due to [the fact that] we were unranked when we started the season but we were able to grow,” Winn said. 

According to the MaxPreps article about the Paly volleyball’s new title, the team was awarded the title for its “resilience, team play, and unlikely route to a state title.”

Co-captain Trina Ohms observed that varsity player’s experience, connection and determination contributed to the volleyball team’s win of the State Tournament and the success of the overall season. 

“To me, there are numerous things that contributed to our win,” Ohms said. “Our team had players with many years of experience.”

Winn agreed, saying that there were many returning varsity players from past years, which helped the team gain their dramatic rise to States.

Both Winn and Ohms concurred that this season is not one that they will forget anytime soon.

“It was one of the most amazing seasons I’ve ever had, obviously,” Winn said. “We always wished we could do that [win States]; we hoped we could do that at the beginning of the season.”

Winn said that the team had achieved everything they had “set out to do.”

Ohms added, “This last season is one for the records and will always be an amazing memory to look back on.”

The team had an impressive season, going 41-1 and beating MaxPreps’ No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

The full article on the MaxPreps National Female Team Award can be found here.