Certainly no one in the high school girls volleyball program has any recollection of the former Los Gatos coach and administrator.

But regardless of that, one thing's for certain—the old coach would be mighty proud of the way the Gatos girls have been treating the gym named in his honor.

The Los Gatos girls were undefeated in Helm Gym this fall, and the last of those victories gave the Wildcats the Northern California Division 2 championship.

The win earned the Cats a trip to the state championship match at Cypress College in Southern California. But Gatos ran out of magic on the trip south, losing 15-10, 15-8, 17-15 to Liberty of Bakersfield.

The loss left the Wildcats 27-7 for the year after winning league, Central Coast Section and Northern California championships—not bad for a team loaded with sophomores and juniors.

It was the second runner-up finish in three years for the Cats. Los Gatos, state champions in 1993, finished second in the state in 2000.

Junior setter Caroline Walters, sophomore outside hitter Alexa Anderson and junior outside hitter Hilary Lewis were Gatos leaders in the state title match against Liberty (32-4).

Earlier in the week, Los Gatos clinched the state berth and the NorCal title with a four-game win over Pleasant Valley (45-3). The Cats rolled to a 4-15, 15-5, 15-4, 15-11 win.
Walters, Anderson and Lewis were Gatos leaders in the game, along with seniors Katie Rowell and Sandy Sargent.

The Wildcats hadn't lost even a game on their home floor at Helm until they dropped a 15-13 nod to Vacaville in the NorCal semifinals. The Cats, who had opened the NorCal tournament with a 15-6, 15-5, 15-2 win over Red Bluff, battled back to beat Vacaville 13-15, 15-3, 14-16, 15-2, 15-10 to remain unbeaten at home.

They kept that string alive in the win over Pleasant Valley.

Los Gatos lost to Liberty a match later, but the Bakersfield squad is loaded with seniors and the Cats are mostly underclassmen. Rowell and Sargent are the only seniors on the Gatos squad, which also features juniors Lewis, Walters, Cassie Eggers, Katie Kramer and Chloe Wilder and sophomores Anderson, Rebecca Mason and Michelle Johnson.