The Dublin High School Boys Volleyball team went on the road to defeat the Bay Valley Athletic League champions and #8 seed Liberty High School 25-17, 25-16, 25-20 on Tuesday night in the First Round of the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs . The win was the program’s first postseason victory since claiming the NCS Division IV title in 2001.
Dublin’s Shashank Thapa set up the Gaels offense for success throughout the night with 33 assists. Most of those assists went for kills by Kavi Chopra and Ashtonn Florentin, each of whom finished with 15 apiece. Kevin Zhu, Cruz Sanchez, and Varun Venkatesh also contributed kills and blocks at key moments in the match to lead the Gaels.
After jumping out to a big early lead in the first set before cruising to win it, the Gaels faced challenges in both the second and third set. In the second set, Dublin trailed 13-12 midway through before going on a 13-3 run to close it out. Dublin also propelled a late comeback by the Lions in the third set to hold on for the straight-set victory.
Dublin now advances to the NCS Division 1 Quarterfinals where it will travel to face #1 seed College Park on Thursday, May 5th at 7:00 p.m. The tournament’s top seed dispatched of #16 seed Freedom 25-9, 25-13, 25-16 on Tuesday night. The Gaels and Falcons squared off earlier this season in a nonleague match, with Dublin falling in 4 sets on March 4th.
Other East Bay Athletic teams to advance out of the First Round of NCS include Amador Valley, Granada, Foothill, De La Salle, and San Ramon Valley, showcasing the overall strength of the league to prepare them for what will be a stiff test at College Park. Tickets for the match can be purchased on the Dublin High Athletics GoFan page
