The Palo Alto High School Vikings volleyball team (16-3-0) defeated the Los Altos High School Eagles (13-9-0), its interleague opponents, in three sets to maintain its undefeated record in league play.
Paly started off slowly as senior Sophia Bono missed a serve, and Los Altos took a 9-3 lead in the first set. The Vikings came roaring back off of solid play by junior Keri Gee and senior captain Shelby Knowles.
Paly took a commanding lead 18-13 and never looked back as Knowles provided six kills.
Lost Altos continued to fight, but it wasn’t enough to take down the Vikings in the first set, as Paly won 25-16.
In the second set, Paly got off to a much more commanding start with help from junior Becca Raffel and her two kills, which pushed the Vikings out to a 10-5 lead.
The Eagles, however, were not finished as they clawed their way back and tightened the score to 20-15. Paly then went on the offensive tear, scoring five straight points, the final of which was a block by junior Lauren Kerr to take the set.
Paly continued to gain momentum, as sophomore Jade Schoenberger led the battle for the net with two blocks.
“I thought my performance was pretty good.” Schoenberger said, “I had some good swings.”
Once again, the Eagles went on a run to close in on Paly, who had a narrow lead at 21-19.
Yet the Eagles couldn’t finish their run as Kerr finished off the set once more with a tip over the net to win the game.
Team captain Sophia Bono was impressed with the performance by her team against Los Altos.
“I think we worked well as a team together…It feels good to be a leader of this team,” Bono said.
Paly Coach David Winn was proud of the way his team played against a quality opponent.
“I thought they [the team] did very well considering they were playing a good team that was very balanced and very well coached.” Winn said, “A sweep tonight was a testament to them [the team] just continuing to stay consistent.”
The Vikings will host Homestead High School at 6:45 p.m. next Thursday in an attempt to maintain their spot in first place in the De Anza division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.