After crushing competition and ending the regular season with a record of 11-1, the girls volleyball season ended in the semi-finals of the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs.

On Nov. 7, Paly faced Buchanan in Clovis and lost 3-0, officially drawing their succesful season to an end.

Their victory against Homestead High School on Oct. 23, with a score of 3-2, took them to the top eight of CCS teams. They then beat Saint Francis 3-1 on Oct. 27, which took them to the semi-finals. Palo Alto was the only public school out of the four semi-final teams.

“This was a huge win for us,” senior captain Mallory Kuppe said about the game against Saint Francis. “We watch film on the teams we are going to play and basically analyze their offensive and defensive strategies. Based off that, we practice certain things that will help us extra in the match.”

According to junior Grace Thayer, no matter the outcome of future games, the team will continue to play their hardest and progress as far in the playoffs as possible.

“We all have high expectations for ourselves, including our coach, and everyday we work on making it more of a reality. Even if we end up going from open to division one Norcal, we are going to go as far as we can and play our game.”

Grace Thayer

Despite their determination, the team lost to Sacred Heart Prep on Oct. 30 with a score of 3-0. This moved them from the Open Division to Division I.

Even after this loss, coach Benji Saetang encouraged the team to continue putting their best foot forward.

“Even in losing moments, we are able to still sustain the level of mental toughness and keep fighting.”

Benji Saetang