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St. Joseph Notre Dame Pilots Claim NCS Volleyball Title

On Saturday, November 9, the Saint Joseph Notre Dame girls volleyball team made history by winning their school’s first NCS (North Coast Section) Division III Girls Volleyball Championship. The Pilots (31-7) claimed the title after a 3-0 set sweep over Bethel High School (23-8) at Kelly Gymnasium in Alameda.

Alameda Post - the St. Joseph Notre Dame girls volleyball team poses together and hold a plaque that says "North Coast Section Championships," and several other words too small to read. They also hold a flag that says "Girls Volleyball NCS 2024 DIV 3 First"
Photo Tomas Pineda.

“This is sweeter for me compared to other coaches,” said Pilots head coach Allan Nguyen. “We were originally a Division V team that moved up to Division III. …Knowing we moved up—and played arguably better schools—made the championship run that much better for us.”

Saint Joe’s NCS run can be attributed to Nguyen’s change in coaching style, his emphasis on defense, and the players’ ability to come together as a team despite obstacles. Nguyen spent the off-season learning new coaching techniques to help improve his Pilots team. One of his main coaching philosophies and messages for this season was simply effort.



“I’ve become more lenient towards [technical] errors, as opposed to errors regarding your effort and hustle,” he said.

Alameda Post - opposing sides at a volleyball match jump at the net and reach for the ball
Photo Tomas Pineda.

Nguyen’s perspective on effort wouldn’t fault a player for a mistake, but would look at whether or not a player’s effort was a factor in said mistake. This small, but radical, change in coaching demonstrated Nguyen’s willingness to adapt and laid the foundation for one of the team’s strongest attributes, defense.

“We had the best defense of any team I’ve ever played on,” said junior Francesca Boccucci. “…One of the things coach Allan always told us was ‘be relentless on defense.’”

Indeed, the Pilots’ defense was so dominant that 24 of their 38 total games were set sweeps, which means the opposing teams did not capture a single set against the Pilots. That includes Saint Joe’s NCS tournament matches against Mt. Eden (25-9, 26-24, 25-11), Kelseyville (25-12, 25-13, 25-16), St. Patrick-St. Vincent (25-19, 25-20, 25-13), and of course Bethel in the finals.

“We really took satisfaction from winning those,” said Lexi Roben regarding the overwhelming number of sweeps.

Alameda Post - a team of volleyball players rush towards each other, smiling
Photo Tomas Pineda.

Saint Joe’s incredible defensive season may not have happened without a team that was willing to stay together through it all. Both coach Nguyen and Roben, a recent 49ers CalHi Player of the Week, expressed how they were “not as confident” in the beginning. But as their season progressed, their confidence did as well. Roben recalled an obstacle for the season being burnout.

“Practice is everyday, we have games, and have to maintain our course load… What is hard is getting tired of that routine,” Roben said. “What pushed me through it was seeing the team come closer together.”

Despite the immense burnout a long season may have on a student athlete, the Pilots team did not falter. They stayed together. In the end, that bond made the 2024 St. Joseph Notre Dame girls volleyball team 2024 NCS Division III champions.

“This whole experience was unreal,” Roben said of winning the NCS title. “We’re finally getting the respect we deserve because we worked so hard. It was a group effort.”

Contributing writer Gabriel Caraballo covers local sports for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected https://alamedapost.com/Gabriel-Caraballo.

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