One day before its regular-season finale against Monta Vista High School on Oct. 28, the Los Gatos High School girls volleyball team met after practice to praise the seniors who have made an impact this season, on and off the court.
“We’re sitting in a room and everyone goes around and says what they like about the seniors,” Wildcats senior Nicole Steiner said. “Last year, this took 30 to 45 minutes and it wasn’t too sad. This year it took over two hours and everyone was bawling. Coach Nicole (Ciari) was like, ‘Oh my God! I know you love each other, but I didn’t know it was this much.’ So, it was pretty emotional.”
The love fest was proof that the Wildcats forged bonds that will last well beyond this year.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more in my final year of playing competitive, organized volleyball,” said Steiner, who will play basketball at Cal State Fullerton next year. “There are no cliques on this team, it’s a fun group and we have such good chemistry. We clicked right away.”
After getting bounced by St. Ignatius in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, Los Gatos (20-6) received the No. 15 seed in the CIF State Division I playoff bracket and stunned No. 2 seed Clovis West on Tuesday, winning in four sets.
Game scores were 25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 26-24. The Wildcats hit the road again and play at No. 10 seed Campolindo on Thursday.
Previous to Tuesday’s win over Clovis West, the highlight of the Wildcats’ season came in a riveting five set win over Palo Alto High on Oct. 3. Palo Alto entered the match ranked No. 2 in the CCS only to be upended by a Los Gatos team that was firing on all cylinders.
“That was definitely our best game and it literally was the best volleyball game of my career,” said Steiner, a three-sport star who has qualified for the CIF State Track and Field Championships in the shot put since her freshman year. “We were all locked in and made minimal mistakes. We had a really clean game and played with a sense of urgency. Sometimes we’re slow to get it going, but we channeled everything that night and it showed.”
Entering this week’s play, Steiner ranked second on the team in kills (220), digs (208), blocks (41), and hitting percentage (.269). Mia Halsey, a Cal State Long Beach-commit, ranks first on the team in kills (241), receptions (383) and aces (53).
Freshman Caylin Thomas ranks first on the team in digs (246), Maya Walker has a team-best 539 assists and Portia Zeidler–a Notre Dame University-commit–leads the team with 44 blocks.
Steiner’s career has been marked by improvement. In her freshman and sophomore year, Steiner’s serve-receive wasn’t one of the strengths of her game. However, she developed into a six rotation player by her junior season, a testament to her work ethic and determination to elevate all aspects of her game.
“I can credit my passing to Vision (Volleyball Club) and also Nicole playing me a lot got me better,” Steiner said. “Having to work and face pressure in game situations really helped me. I just love that I was able to improve because I could contribute to the team on my serve-receive and not just with my swing.”
Up until her junior year, Steiner was convinced volleyball—not basketball—would be her sport in college. After all, Steiner displayed poise and maturity on the volleyball court at an early age. But in the last few years, Steiner’s ascent on the basketball court has been nothing short of meteoric.
At 6-foot-1, Steiner is a bull on the low block, a rebounding machine and passes exceptionally well. Indeed, it was Steiner’s passing that caught the eye of CSU Fullerton women’s basketball coach Jeff Harada.
“He came to one of my games and liked how aggressive I was with everything, including my rebounding and passes,” Steiner said. “I made a one-handed, half-court bounce pass that he said blew his mind. He said I can be very versatile and play the five (center), four (power forward), or the three (small forward). He’s excited to work with me and see where I can go.”
Steiner credited her club basketball coach, Alex Carbonel, for connecting her to Harada.
“She worked so much on my behalf calling all the college coaches she knew,” Steiner said. “She talked about me and hyped me up, and the coaches would come to watch me.”
Knowing the Clovis West match could be the final one of her volleyball career, Steiner is prepared to leave it all on the court.
“A few days ago I was rewatching the SI game, and it was hitting me the next time could be my last time ever playing organized volleyball,” she said. “That feeling made my stomach drop a little bit because I still love the sport. So I’ll obviously go all out because I don’t want to lose this one. I want it to be the biggest upset and want the season to continue because I love being on this team.”
