How tough? Heading into last Saturday's Northern California Division 2 semifinal match against Vacaville, the Wildcats hadn't even lost a game at home this season, let alone a match.

But they came dangerously close to doing both.

Vacaville ended the Wildcats' winning ways with a 15-13 win in the first game. Then, after the Cats won 15-3 in the second game, the Bulldogs won a tight 16-14 nod to lead in the match two games to one.

That's when the Wildcats showed Vacaville who the real bulldogs were.

"We were down 2-1, but we didn't panic," said Los Gatos coach Joe Ripp. "We really cleaned up our level of play."

Ripp wasn't that impressed with the Wildcats' performance early in the match, but the Cats battled back to win 15-2, 15-10 in the final two games to clinch the win and a berth in the NorCal finals.

"It was an exciting match," said Ripp of the NorCal semis. "At times, I thought we were a little inconsistent. But I thought they did a good job of staying together as a team."

The Cats stayed together well enough to beat Vacaville and advance to the NorCal finals against Pleasant Valley of Chico. Los Gatos, now 26-6 for the year, was to host Pleasant Valley (45-2) on Dec. 3, 7 p.m., in the match to decide the NorCal championship.

The winner of Tuesday's match advances to the state finals, set for Dec. 7 at Cypress College in Southern California.

Right-side hitter Katie Rowell and outside hitters Alexa Anderson and Hilary Lewis starred for the Wildcats in the win over the Bulldogs last Saturday. Rowell, one of just two seniors on the Gatos squad, led the squad with 22 kills. Anderson hammered down 20, and Lewis knocked down 19.

"It was a good team effort," said Ripp, who also mentioned the play of senior middle blocker Sandy Sargent and junior setter Caroline Walters. Juniors Cassie Eggers, Katie Kramer and Chloe Wilder and sophomores Rebecca Mason and Michelle Johnson round out the squad.

The Cats, champs of Central Coast Section (CCS) Division 2, had opened the NorCal tournament with a 15-6, 15-5, 15-2 win over Red Bluff, taking three straight games to keep their unbeaten string alive on their home floor.

Vacaville ended that streak, but Los Gatos remained undefeated heading into Tuesday's NorCal championship match.

"I'm very happy with the way things are going and with the way this team has come together," said Ripp. "We're excited about where we are."

He'll also be excited about where his club will be if the Cats can win the NorCal title and advance to state. Los Gatos competed for the state championship in the 2000 season, losing in the finals to wind up second overall.