Girls’ volleyball defeated Acalanes in their last league game of the year on November 6, winning in 3 sets.
Campolindo took a decisive lead in the 1st and 2nd sets, winning 25-16 and 25-12, respectively. The 3rd set was closer, 25-20.
The game was both an opportunity to look back and ahead for the Cougars.
“Tonight we were expecting Acalanes to bring a big fight,” senior outside hitter Kelley Wirth said. “We’re rivals, all 4 years we’ve been rivals, we know each other, we play club with each other. We were expecting them to bring it tonight, so we came prepared. It was a good battle, they played awesome. It’s just always fun to play them because they’re our rivals.”
Wirth said that during the game she “was thinking, ‘Crap, this is my last time playing Acalanes, ever.’ It’s bittersweet, but they’re all good memories and it’s been a great four years and it’s been really fun.”
Junior defensive specialist Macall Remp said she was “nervous at first, because Acalanes had huge crowds there, ‘cause they wanted to win badly, but once the game started rolling it wasn’t too hard.”
Head coach John Vuong credits the team’s success to, “passing, tough serves, ball control. That’s helped us going far [sic].”
Acalanes head coach Todd Travis was optimistic prior to the game. “We had high expectations. We were coming off of a 5 game win streak. We’ve had some of our best practices of the year, but we ran into a tough Campolindo team that was ready for us,” Travis said.
“The girls kept fighting. We believed the whole time that we were going to win that game, and that’s a testament to the girls’ will and perseverance and desire to win. You know, we put in the time at practice, and we felt like we could win this game,” Travis said.
With the win, finishes Diablo Foothill Athletic League (DFAL) play undefeated. They are 26-7 overall.
“League champs- we’re undefeated, we’re done, no more,” Vuong said.
The team will go on to compete in the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs starting Wednesday, November 12 against El Cerrito.
Vuong and Wirth are both optimistic about NCS.
“We feel pretty good, there’s some things that we need to work on,” Vuong said. “We’ll watch the tape and see what else we need to work on, but I like our chances and the girls are peaking at the right time.”
“I’m pumped. I think since the beginning of the season we’ve grown so much and everyone stepped up in their role, and I think we’re going to do really well, just ‘cause we’ve come together as a family,” Wirth said.
