The Los Gatos High girls volleyball team has already been involved in three five-set matches this season, and it prevailed each time.
That’s always a good sign for any squad that has aspirations to win a league and section championship. So it is for the Wildcats, who entered the week at 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the ultra-tough Santa Clara Valley League’s De Anza Division.
“The team has only gone uphill and hasn’t taken any backward steps, which is fantastic,” Wildcats coach Brynja Thompson said. “We’ve had some exciting five-setters so we’re giving people their money’s worth of volleyball when they come to the gym.”
Thompson said playing in five-set matches is irreplaceable because it’s something that can’t be simulated at any other time.
“We welcome five-setters because the girls are doing things we cannot recreate in practice,” she said. “The poise, confidence level and the management of stress from a volleyball and athletic standpoint you gain is something we’re really getting to practice in those five-set matches. You only feel that pressure of a loss when it’s 24-24 or when you’re in a fifth set. Those are things you can’t recreate in practice so I’m very happy and excited this team can experience those things early in the season.”
Two of the Wildcats’ three five-set wins have come in league play, including against Mountain View, a contender for the league title along with Los Gatos and Palo Alto. Los Gatos has tremendous balance and offensive firepower, but any team with championship aspirations needs unsung heroes in the form of stellar liberos and defensive specialists to be as equally talented and effective.
The Wildcats have that in seniors Emily Gouldrup and Taylor Vales, whose defensive prowess means opposing teams need to hit a near-perfect ball for it to go down. Gouldrup leads the De Anza Division in digs, covers a lot of ground and is co-captain on the team along with Natalie Anthony and Hannah Slover.
“Emily is everything you want in a player and person,” Thompson said. “She’s well rounded, a wonderful bridge in communications between the coach and the team, and is extremely trusted among players both athletically and emotionally. As far as athletics go, I think other teams would be silly to serve to her because when Emily passes the ball, I know we’ll be in a good spot. Her defense is second to none.”
As is Vales’, which can shift Los Gatos from a defensive position to an offensive one on a moment’s notice. Thompson said Vales comes off the bench and instantly sparks the team with her hustle, solid passing and ability to read opposing hitters.
“She knows where the ball is going to go before the hitters do sometimes,” Thompson said. “She’s that honed in and knows exactly where to stand and go. She’s expected to be great right when she goes in and does a phenomenal job. She produces time and again whether it’s at right back, middle or a smidge of left back depending on what type of rotation we’re in. Teams cannot hit in her direction—or at least they shouldn’t—because her serve-receive and defense are pinpoint.”
Thompson said Gouldrup does something great leaders do: they train others up so when they eventually leave another person will be ready to assume their role and the process will be repeated.
“She’s training all the younger players who are playing the same position as her,” Thompson said. “Emily’s value will be here long after she’s gone because the team will keep reaping the benefits of what she is doing and how that will pass on to the next generation of players.”
