Let the Eagles soar Let the Eagles soar (October 07, 2005)

Four-game thriller ends in 'upset' for Spartans

By Scott Campbell

In recent years, it would have been unfathomable to consider the Los Altos girls volleyball team a "spoiler," or that an Eagles victory over rival Mountain View would be an "upset."

But those were some of Eagles coach Dave Winn's words following his team's four-game victory over the host Spartans on Oct. 4.

While Los Altos struggled out of the gate and dropped its first three De Anza Division games, Mountain View roared to a 20-3 start that included a non-league win over the Eagles at the Milpitas Spikefest on Sept. 3.

With a 3-0 league record, the Spartans looked primed to accomplish a goal that had eluded their seniors thus far: a De Anza Division win over Los Altos.

But the Eagles (14-13, 2-3 De Anza) showed their resilience, overcoming a slow start to win 17-25, 30-28, 25-20, 28-26.

"Coming on the road and winning in their house is huge," said Winn.

After Mountain View (20-5, 3-1 De Anza) comfortably won the first game behind the dominant play of outside hitter Chelsea Ligda, it looked as if it would be the Spartans' night.

But Ligda suggested that overconfidence and poor on-court communication was the team's undoing.

"We can't come out as cocky as we did," said Ligda, who posted a game-high 23 kills and 16 digs.

Neither team could gain more than a three-point lead in a hotly contested second game.

Down 25-24, Mountain View turned to its potent one-two punch, as Ligda slammed down an Abby Damm set to even the game.

Damm continued her strong senior season with 46 assists and 7 kills.

Los Altos needed four more game points, but a service ace by middle blocker Elysia Meyers gave the Eagles a 30-28 victory and plenty of momentum.

Los Altos outside hitter Christan Schaefer posted 4 of her 14 kills early in the third game -- a game in which the Eagles would never trail.

Mountain View jumped to a 15-8 lead in the fourth game, but the Eagles clawed back.

A wild finish ensued, with the Spartans failing to protect a 23-21 lead, but later forcing a game point on kill by outside hitter Biz Lynch. Meanwhile, after blowing its first two shots at match point, Los Altos survived another long rally to ultimately prevail when outside hitter Aimee Harris blocked Lynch's hit.

"That fourth game was great," said Winn. "That's volleyball, you know. Back and forth, swinging hard, blocking, girls were diving all over the place on both sides. ... That's good stuff."

After believing this was finally the year in which it could eclipse the shadow cast by its cross-town nemesis, Mountain View was bitterly disappointed in its performance.

"Los Altos played great tonight," said Spartans coach Gerrie Phillips, who has already highlighted the teams' Oct. 25 rematch. "They came out with nothing to lose. They wanted it more than us tonight and so they got it."

The Eagles, who built on their second-place showing at the Menlo-Atherton Tournament on Oct. 1, were thrilled to reassert themselves after a challenging start to the season.

"It feels awesome," said Los Altos junior Emily Saliba, who finished with 16 kills and 15 digs. "It feels good to be back on top, finally. It's been a long road."

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

E-mail a friend a link to this story.