And when the final volley hit the floor, it was Leland pulling out a 28-26, 25-14, 18-25, 25-14 win over the Bruins to remain undefeated in league play at 7-0 (14-2 overall). Branham fell to 5-2 (11-7 overall).

Briana Scala led the Chargers with 16 kills. Scala is a senior and a four-year varsity player. Scala and junior Christy Gillick are co-captains of the team and provide "good leadership," said coach Chris Hansen.

Leland also has two freshman varsity starters, Chaulet Scala and Joyce Chang.

"It's very uncommon for Leland to have freshman starters on our varsity. It's a testament to their talent," said Hansen.

The Chargers have three other seniors on the varsity—Sally Hahn, Becky Tremann and Alaina Walker—who provide some good experience to mix with the other younger varsity players.

It looks like Leland can look forward to a wealth of young talent in the near future. "The JV is doing very well," added Hansen, "which makes the future look bright."

The Chargers continued their winning ways later in the week with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-20 victory over Independence, moving their record to 8-0 in league). B. Scala once again led the Chargers with 13 kills.

The Chargers have only one home contest left, an Oct. 30 date with Willow Glen. The 6 p.m. varsity match is preceded by the 5 p.m. JV match. It will be Senior Night with a special ceremony recognizing the seniors in the program.

In the loss to Leland last week, Branham senior Ashley Madrigal had16 kills to lead the Bruins. Branham coach Dave Faz was very proud of the way his team played against Leland.

"They have some incredible players and are very tough competition," said Faz.

Branham has an "equal mix of young and experienced players" on its team and "this will be the fourth year in a row going to the CCS playoffs." This is only the fifth year since Branham has been reopened.

The Bruins got back on the winning track later in the week when they defeated Mt. Pleasant 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 to improve their league record to 6-2 and remain in a tie for second place with Piedmont Hills in the division.

Madrigal once again led the Bruins in kills with 16. She had strong support from senior Caitlin Steffeck with 11 kills and sophomore Amber Kauffman also with 11 kills.

This past weekend Branham was invited to play in the annual Panther Challenge, hosted by Presentation High School here in San Jose. Every year the tournament includes some of the finest teams in the state.

The tournament invites 16 teams that are divided into gold and silver divisions with the stronger teams at the gold level.

Branham competed in the silver division where the Bruins made it to the finals and finished in second place in that division, placing the Bruins 10th overall in the tournament. The Bruins have been playing in the tournament for five years and this is the first time that they have finished in the top 10.

In other local action, Pioneer split in a pair of West Valley Division matches last week. The Mustangs handled San Jose Academy 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 behind a six-kill performance by Brittany Faul, but lost a 26-24, 26-25, 25-22 heartbreaker to Evergreen Valley despite a strong showing by Stephanie Morales.