Defeating 8th seeded Albany in 3 sets on November 15, the top seeded girls’ volleyball team advanced to the NCS division 3 semifinals.
The Cougars “went to 5” sets against Albany last year. “It was a tough game,” said sophomore center Jaime Brown. “We watched a lot of video over the past few days, so in our hearts we knew we could win, but we knew that Albany’s a good team,” she said.
“They’re small, fast defensively, but not so much offense,” said head coach John Vuong. “Everybody’s a threat. It doesn’t matter who they are, you’ve got to come in and play your A game. You can’t take the advantage of the opponent any time.”
While remaining vigilant, the Cougars were confident heading into the match. “We felt pretty good. We beat them last year at NCS,” said sophomore outside hitter Josie Cole, whose appearance in Saturday’s match was her first since returning from a broken foot suffered at the beginning of the season.
Campolindo was “in control” during the first set, winning 25-13, according to Vuong. However, he felt his team needed “a little more communication in the back and control of the ball when they had the chance.”
Tension rose during the second set, with the two teams locked in a back-and-forth battle for several points. Then Campolindo surged to the lead with four consecutive points, ending the set at 25-21. “Second game they let their guard down a bit, but third game we came back and played the way we’re supposed to play,” said Vuong.
The Cougars took a decisive lead early in the third set, and never looked back. “We had a few great runs and then a few times where we let some points go that we should have gotten, but overall I think we did great and it’s definitely good practice for what’s to come in our season,” said Brown.
The team felt “pumped” going into the game, which was a big factor in the win, believed junior captain Kirsten Sibley. “We played as one. It’s everyone, it’s a team effort,” she said.
“I think the team played well, we were really strong,” said senior opposite Lauren Budde. “We are going to the championships, for sure, for sure.”
The Cougars will face Acalanes in the Semifinals on November 17.
“We’ve played them three times now and we’ve never dropped a set to them, so I’m definitely confident about Wednesday’s game. If that’s the case we can win that,” explained Brown.
“As far as the finals, we’ve always sort of been neck and neck with Bishop O’Dowd, so if it turns out that the two of us are in the finals it’ll definitely be a good game and there’s no telling who’s gonna win,” said Brown.
Sibley has no doubt that Campolindo will beat Acalanes and proceed to the championships. “Come next Saturday at 7 in this gym, we will kick butt,” she said.
Cole credits her coaches for this year’s success. However, Vuong puts his faith in his players. “I’m confident in my team every day, every night,” said Vuong.
