Sports

Town Crier file photo
Senior Hanadi Nassif, going for the kill in a match last year, “will be a person we lean on quite a bit,” Eagles coach Peter Kim said.

Although the Los Altos High girls volleyball team’s starting lineup has drastically changed, the Eagles’ expectations haven’t as they embark on the 2017 season.

“We strive to win league every year – no matter who we have and who’s coming back,” said coach Peter Kim, whose squad finished tied for second in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division last season.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
St. Francis High’s Curtis Reitmeir, left, and Cameron Allen go for the block against Galileo in the first round of the NorCal playoffs.

The St. Francis High boys volleyball team – ranked fifth in the nation and the top seed in the Northern California Division I playoffs – has encountered few opponents good enough to make the Lancers pay for their mistakes.

They faced such a foe in Thursday night’s NorCal semifinals, and fourth-seeded Roseville turned many of those mistakes into points that enabled the visitors to pull off a four-set upset. The Tigers took down St. Francis 26-24, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18.

Courtesy of Jeff Smith/Penn State
Los Altos native Nathan Smith sets the ball in Penn State’s win over Ohio State.

Preparation paid off for Penn State freshman Nathan Smith.

Thrust into the starting lineup due to a teammate’s injury, the Los Altos High graduate played an integral role in the Nittany Lions’ recent upset of Ohio State – ranked No. 1 nationally in men’s volleyball.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
St. Francis High’s Brigitte Canty leaps to make a kill in Saturday’s playoff match against Valley Christian. She led the Lancers with 12 kills.

After the Lancers let leads slip away in the first two sets, there was no turning back. The momentum belonged to visiting Valley Christian, which finished off St. Francis in the third set of Saturday’s Northern California Division II girls volleyball final.

The resilient Warriors – who overcame an eight-point deficit midway through the first set and a four-point hole late in the second to win both 25-23 – jumped to an early lead in the third on the way to a 25-17 victory.