Volleyball team finds its rhythm

Palo Alto High School’s girls volleyball team is halfway through its season, and has been playing very well. With four wins and two losses under its belt, the team is excited to finish the season as strong as it started it.

The Lady Vikes played against Henry M. Gunn High School on Oct. 8 at Gunn’s Bow Gym and came away with a 3-2 win. The Titans put up stiff competition, but the Lady Vikes eventually crushed them in their closing sets. The team will play Gunn again on Oct. 29 in an away game.

“I thought we did a really good job adjusting to the huge crowd and focusing on our game,” junior outside hitter Katie Passarello said. “It was a tough fight but I really think we pulled through as a team in the end and I look forward to doing that again.”

More recently, Paly lost a close match to Los Gatos High School in an away game on Oct. 13, with a score of 3-0. The Lady Vikes will play Los Gatos again on Nov. 3 as a home game.

The team has completed 630 assists, led 149 serving aces and blocked 94 times over the course of the season.

Compared to other teams, the girls have been doing very well. Gunn’s record is one win and six losses, Saratoga High School’s record is two wins and five losses and Homestead High School’s record is one win and six losses. However, even with the strong team, many girls still cannot predict the outcome of this season.

“League is up for grab this year – lots of the teams are changing and forming new styles – so [it’s] interesting to play the same teams but for them to have different systems than before,” Passarello said.

The team is standing fourth in the league behind Los Altos, Los Gatos and Mountain View, but is excited to bring up its ranking throughout the season.