Despite getting off to a shaky start, the Palo Alto girls' volleyball team pulled it together and posted a 19-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-18 victory over visiting Homestead in a SCVAL De Anza Division match on Thursday night.

The Vikings improved to 2-0 (13-3) as Shelby Knowles produced 19 kills and five digs. Junior Becca Raffel added 14 kills and five digs, Sophia Bono dished 42 assists with five digs and Keri Gee finished with 23 digs. Palo Alto coach Dave Winn also liked the work of Anna Dukovic, who added nine digs and served a pair of aces.

"Anna played her best defense of the season so far," Winn said. "When we needed digs the most in the fourth set, Anna found a way keep balls in play, sparking our offense to victory. She was also our most aggressive and accurate server of the match."

In another SCVAL De Anza Division match, Gunn bounced back from a league-opening loss to Palo Alto and pinned a 25-14, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16 loss on visiting Lynbrook. Lena Latour led the Titans (1-1, 8-6) with 20 kills and six aces while Chandler Gardiner provided 21 assists and 14 digs.

Elsewhere on Thursday:

In San Jose, Sacred Heart Prep tuned up for next week's West Bay Athletic League opener with a 25-17, 25-23, 14-25, 25-22 nonleague victory over host Valley Christian. The Gators (15-2) were led by sophomore Victoria Garrick's 18 kills and three aces while senior Sonia Abuel-Saud added 15 kills and 11 digs. Payton Smith had six kills and six aces while fellow senior Ellie Shannon added eight kills and three blocks. Helen Gannon (28 digs) and Cammi Merten (27 assists) also contributed to the Gators' victory.

In Saratoga, senior Lucy Tashman produced 13 kills to help Castilleja snap a four-match losing streak with a 25-19, 25-20, 26-24 nonleague triumph over host Saratoga. Jessica Norum added 19 digs for the Gators (5-6).

In San Francisco, Menlo School tuned up for its Chris Chandler Invitational and the start of league play next week, facing a tough Sacred Heart Cathedral team in a 3-1 loss on the road. The Fighting Irish improve to 11-3 overall after defeating the Knights, 25-11, 26-28, 25-17, 25-23.

"It definitely was a challenge for us and we had to be precise and mentally tough to beat SHCP," Menlo coach Atlee Hubbard said. "They are a great defensive team and kept the ball alive."

Maddy Frappier provided a spark for the Menlo offense, finishing with 13 kills, 12 digs, and a pair of aces. As a team, Menlo totaled 79 digs, led by libero Melissa Cairo with 20. The Knights (6-4) host the second annual Chris Chandler Invitational on Saturday, which has grown to 16 teams and brings together a strong field of Central Coast Section teams, including 2011 CCS playoff contenders from Division I through Division V.

In Pacifica, Menlo-Atherton (2-0, 4-5) swept host Terra Nova, 25-14, 25-9, 25-15 behind Katelyn Doherty's 16 kills. It was the Bears' 20th straight league win.

In WBAL Skyline Division action, Pinewood (0-2, 5-3) dropped a 25-11, 25-17, 25-3 match to host Harker.

Boys' water polo
Palo Alto remained a game behind first-place Mountain View in the SCVAL De Anza Division race as Bret Pinsker scored eight goals in a 12-8 win over visiting Monta Vista on Thursday. The Vikings improved to 3-1 in league. (5-3 overall).

In another De Anza Division match, Gunn capped its successful week with a 7-4 win over visiting Los Gatos. After a good showing from team captain Harrison Waschura in goal, the first period ended 0-0. Christian Znidarsic and Coby Wayne then kicked of the Gunn offense with two goals each as the team exploded to a 4-0 lead at half.

Los Gatos scored two quick goals in the third, but a bounce-back goal from Manny Miller gave the Titans a 5-2 lead going into the fourth. Micheal Znidarzic then scored a quick goal at the start of the period and then Kevin Zook scored the dagger on a no-look shot, putting the game out of reach for the Cats as Gunn improved to 2-1 in league.

Girls' water polo
With Caroline Anderson scoring four goals, Gunn remained atop the SCVAL De Anza Division standings with a 9-4 victory over visiting Los Gatos on Thursday night. The Titans improved to 3-0 (7-3).

Also in SCVAL De Anza Division play, Palo Alto (3-1, 4-4) finished the night in victory after defeating visiting Lynbrook, 10-3. Seven Viking players were successful at the net while Abby Bromberg played excellent defense in the goal.

Four quick goals by Emma Wolfe and Tess van Hulsen led the Palo Alto offense to a 4-1 lead at the half. The Vikings' patience at the net paid off with two goals by Tara Lawrence and one by Hannah Bundy in the third period, pushing the lead to 7-2. Palo Alto finished the night off with strong goals by Martine LeClerc, Abbey Kinnaman, and Emily Francis.

— Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Sports Information

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