On Wednesday, October 4, the Wilcox Chargers Girls Varsity Volleyball team hosted the Santa Clara Bruins in a cross-town rivalry matchup. This is the first time the teams have gone head-to-head in the 2023-24 regular season since the Chargers came out with a 3-0 victory when the two teams met on Thursday, September 14.
Led by Senior captains Neda Salehi and Mia Perez Smith, the Chargers won the coin toss and opted to serve to start the game. The first few possessions of the game were neck-and-neck, with both teams struggling to respond to one another’s moves on the defensive end. However, a kill from Senior Outside Hitter Bianca Burke set the tone for a Chargers scoring run. The Chargers maintained their lead off of kills from Opposite Hitter/Setter Kelsy Mock and Middle Hitter Hanako Stone. The Bruin’s Hitters attempted to respond to the Chargers’ scoring run but were met by the Chargers’ front row above the net on almost every attempt. A timeout from Santa Clara offset the momentum of the Chargers, who allowed their opponent to trail shortly behind through the rest of the set. Despite this, the Chargers regained momentum and closed the set 25-18 off of a 5-0 scoring run.
The Chargers started the second set scrappily, with the team’s defense struggling to recover off of the Bruins’ blocks. The Black & Gold were gradually able to get their heads back into the game and overwhelm the Bruins’ defense with deceiving fake sets, back-row hits, and impossible-to-defend kills. “The Seniors stepped up this game,” expressed Coach Lujan. “They knew that this was their last matchup against Santa Clara and did not want to end their high school career with a loss against their rivals.” Salehi and Burke both anchored the Chargers’ offense in the second set, creating plays that the Bruins could not respond to.
The Chargers went into the third set hoping to seal the game with a sweep. The team held a dominant lead over the Bruins throughout the set and came out victorious 25-16. The Chargers’ victory makes them 2-0 against Santa Clara in the regular season, sweeping their cross-town rivals in a total of 6 sets.
As the only long-standing high schools in the Santa Clara Unified School District, the rivalry between Wilcox and Santa Clara – particularly in athletics – has been a key component in the schools’ cultures for years. Students from both schools travel across town during the two teams’ matchups to take part in this friendly competition and to say hello to familiar faces. “[Rivalry games] are way more fun, the crowd gets us so hyped,” emphasizes Perez Smith. “Everybody’s so pumped and cheery and it makes the game so much better.”
The Chargers’ 3-0 victory over the Bruins preserves their spot as the 4th seed in the El Camino League, with a 4-4 league record. In light of the team’s low win percentage in comparison to the 2022-23 season, the Chargers hope to navigate their way back to CCS and repeat as the league champions.
