The boys’ varsity volleyball team faced down Acalanes in a nail-biting, five game match to earn a berth in the section finals.
The first two games were close affairs, 25-23 and 25-22, that tipped in Campo’s favor. Acalanes rebounded in the third game, starting with a commanding 10-2 lead. Campo was unable to come back from the deficit and fell 19-25. Acalanes then won again in the fourth game 25-22, pushing the match into a deciding fifth game.
“Once the other team starts playing desperate then you really have to buckle down and fight. The third and fourth games we struggled with our passing game and some nerves came into play,” said coach Dave Chen.
Campo came out with an early lead and held it, winning 15-9 and securing the match. “It came down to us getting rid of our errors,” said setter Joe Worsley.
Acalanes’ greatest asset in the match was once again league MVP Dan Kennedy. “Dan is incredible, he got a ton of kills,” said opposite hitter Ryan Alva. “We knew to focus on him in the front row. If he is in the front row, he can get kills, so we knew we needed to get him in the back row to stop him.”
According to Worsley, the crowd and the bench were instrumental in keeping the intensity going. Junior Nick Holden led the crowd in a series of “I Believe That We Will Win” and “Let’s Go Campo” chants.”
“It was the largest crowd at any boy’s volleyball game this year. You could definitely feel the tension in the crowd,” said Holden.
Number one seeded Drake was unseated in the other semi-final, so Campo will face Dougherty Valley in the NCS finals on Friday night. “At this point in the season any team can beat any team. It’s a matter of match ups. Dougherty and Acalanes played us very close in the regular season, so they will definitely play with a lot of confidence. Right now they are peaking at the right time so we will have our hands full,” said Chen.