The girls varsity volleyball team secured a hard-fought win against Homestead High School on Oct. 9.

The game was a close back-and-forth battle, though Paly ultimately won 3-2 after five sets. The team is currently tied for first place in its league.

Despite some missteps, Coach Chris Crader said the team stayed determined and performed well.

“We’re a little up and down, and then Homestead really picked it up, and so I’m glad that we were able to pull out a win,” Crader said. “The girls fought really hard at the end there and made some great plays.”

Senior Mackenzie Zhao said she was happy the team persevered until the last minute.

“It’s good that the team didn’t give up, and we just kept fighting,” Zhao said. “But (in) the end, we won.”

However, Crader said there have been many small errors in their recent matches, and the team will focus on reducing them moving forward.

“We want to be aggressive, for sure, but I think there’s a fine line between being aggressive and scoring a few too many points for the other team,” Crader said. “We’re still trying to find our best balance on that line right now.”

Despite these small errors, Zhao also said keeping a positive mindset after mistakes is key to performing well in the future.

“Once we start messing up, our (opponents) kind of get into our heads, so I hope we can reset quicker in,” Zhao said.

Looking ahead, Crader said the team has a few goals for the season regarding the league and future matches.

“Winning the league is always a primary goal,” Crader said. “We’re tied for first right now. After that, just get on a run in the CCS playoffs, make it to NorCal and get on the run in the north and to keep getting better every day.”

Their next match is against Los Gatos High School on Oct. 23 and following that, Los Altos High School on Oct. 28.