NorCal girls volleyball team strikes gold in Junior Olympics Jonathan Okanes - Contra Costa Times - 7/13/2008
The NorCal Volleyball Club's under-16 team played so well during the first few days of the USA Junior Olympics in Dallas, the players began to joke around that they could win the gold medal.
The punch line never came.
NorCal, the 24th seed out of 48 teams in the National Division, dominated pool play and didn't even lose a game until the finals, where it beat Cincy Classics 25-20, 18-25, 15-11 to win the championship on the Fourth of July.
"At the beginning we had no idea how well we could do," said NorCal outside hitter Nikki Baker, an Amador Valley High School student who was named the tournament's most valuable player. "By the third day, we realized we were playing a lot better and clicking on the court. We started joking around that maybe we could win it if we keep going like th... Read More