Shane Nordby knew he had a great team coming back.
But even he was impressed by how good his Pleasanton Bulldogs looked during the opening week of practice this season.
“I can remember talking to the other coaches going, 'Gosh, where do we go? We’re so good right now,’†the Pleasanton coach said.
As good as Pleasanton was then, the top-rated Bulldogs didn’t peak until this week at the state volleyball tournament, putting the wraps on a 33-0 season with a 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 win against No. 3 Archbishop Bergan in Saturday’s Class D-1 final at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Pleasanton hit .455 in the opening set and seniors Katelyn Lindner (22 kills on 32 swings) and Isabelle Paitz (18 kills on 25 swings) peppered the Bergan side of the court with kills all match.
Game stories:ÌýClass AÂ |Â Â Class BÂ |Â Â Class C-1Â |Â Â Class C-2Â |Â Â Class D-1Â |Â Â Class D-2Â |Â Â Results
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“The whole state tournament this year, we’ve been playing our best ball and just this game especially, this was our best game all season,†Lindner said. “Just coming out on top, that’s what everybody dreams of and we got it done.â€
Pleasanton dropped three sets total all season and won its first state title since 1976. The Bulldogs won a state basketball title last March.
“They didn’t disappoint and they elevated their game just about every week out and got better and better as the season went on,†Nordy said. “That says a lot from where we started.â€
Pleasanton, which has six seniors, set high expectations for itself for 2020. The Bulldogs wanted to get back to state after falling in the semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Archbishop Bergan knocked off the Bulldogs both times.
What got the Bulldogs over the hump? Nordby said the team improved in some key areas, including serving and blocking.
“I think those two skills added with the improvement of just getting older and becoming more comfortable out on the floor, and we’re a team that we don’t make a whole bunch of mistakes,†Nordby said. “We keep a lot of pressure, I feel like, on the team that’s opposite the net from us.â€
That included a young Archbishop Bergan (26-11) team, which got behind 10-4 in each of the first two sets, and hit .159 for the match.
Senior Natalie Siegel, who moved from middle blocker after her sophomore year, finished with 44 set assists, many of those going to Lindner and Paitz, who had great success finding open spots on the Bergan side.
“I don’t think it was a big shot thing, I think it was just the adrenaline and playing in the state championship,†Lindner said. “We’ve never done that yet in volleyball, and just knowing that everyone is watching this and this is our biggest game.â€
Lauren Baker, the lone senior on Bergan’s team, finished with 13 kills. Bergan was appearing in its third straight D-1 final. The Knights won a state title in 2018.
Bergan had a chance to swing momentum its way, up 18-15, but Pleasanton took 10 of the final 12 rallies. It included four kills from Paitz.
“I think there was a little bit (of a) deer-in-the-headlight look for us,†Bergan coach Sue Wewel said. “I think they were pretty much in awe in Linder, and I also just think this is a big deal, under the lights, all the hoopla.â€